Naruto High School
by ElementalDarkness
Summary: title says all alot of random things happen too gaaraxoc and small sasukexoc re-editing: chapter 1-6 edited
1. First Day

I don't own Naruto and this is my re-edition.

* * *

A loud noise rang through my ear like a blare horn. No matter how much I tried to block it out, it seemed to grow louder and louder.

"UGH!" I snapped.

I banged my fist on it making it immediately cease it's noise. My eyes opened lazily as I saw a blur of my black and white alarm clock.

"Tch… Stupid alarm…" I cursed at it.

I noticed the red, digital numbers started blinking and finally turned off. It had broke…

"….I guess have I have to buy another one," I yawned. "What time is it anyway?"

I grabbed a wrist watch that has never been worn from my counter and blinked black my vision to check the time.

_7:30 _

"Damn… It looks like I'll be late for my first day," I yawned again, seemingly without care.

I went into the bathroom to get ready like every other student would do. But as I jogged down the stairs, I glanced around at my quiet, empty home. No one cooking in the kitchen. No one sitting on the couch, watching television. Not even snoring in the other bedroom. I'm sixteen years old, and I live alone. Why you ask?

My parents thought it would be okay for me to go to a better school. A rich school where they believed would have better education for me. But I laugh at that. My regular school was perfectly fine. Not to mention they said they were too busy to come with me, so I am to take care of myself. Learn about "real life."

My thoughts on this? They most likely didn't even want to bother to help me. And all my life, they've been hassling me about not doing anything alone because it's not safe. This must be my punishment for trying to be independent on things I _knew _and _understood _how to do. I'm angry that they choose a time of all times to leave me alone now, but I didn't mind that much. Now I don't need to hear them yell at me for no reason.

Since I was already late to school, I only ate a granola bar and walked outside my door with my backpack strap on one shoulder. After I locked my door, I walked off toward my new school that was only a few minutes away. As I neared my school, I had already heard the school bell ring.

"Oh well. It doesn't matter. My excuse of being new will get me out of trouble."

I made my way toward its entrance and glanced at my school name.

"'Konohagakure High School.' Huh… That's a weird name."

I walked through the door and my footsteps echoed throughout the hallways; everyone was already in class. I took no notice to this insignificant fact though. I merely made my way toward the office to get my schedule and items. But my way was blocked by someone. I glanced up at them with irritation.

"Where do you think you're going, mm?" he asked.

This boy stared down at me. He had long yellow hair that was tied up and his bangs covered his left eye. His voice was that for a boy, but for a moment, I would have mistaken him as a girl. I answered him.

"Where does it look like I'm going," I scowled.

"You have no hall pass and you're late for class, mm. This means you're in trouble, mm," he crossed his arms with a smirk.

"No shit, Sherlock. I know I'm late. Now get off my case," I glared.

"Your case is my business, mm. I'm the hall monitor for today and you're going to get in trouble with the principal; she's in a bad mood, mm."

"Stop with the mm! Do you have issues?! And I'm new, you twit! Now go cross dress, or something."

"What!?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, you can be pulled off as a girl," I insulted.

"Che! Whatever. I'm going to ignore that and take you to the principal's office. It's still my job, mm," he scoffed.

"Look here, she-man, I'm not blind! The principal's office is right over there with big words on the door!" I growled. "What do you people take me for?! Just because I'm new!"

I pushed past him and angrily stormed off toward the office. As I opened the door, my eyes widened a bit, making me forget about my anger. It was like two classrooms put together with chairs here, and plants there. This room even had it's own hallway. My eyes landed on a young, middle aged woman with black hair and eyes scribbling away at her own huge desk. She was obviously the secretary, because she seemed to be the only one in here. Her desk had a ton of paperwork as well.

"Oh? May I help you?" the woman finally noticed my presence.

"Oh… Yes. I'm the new student, and I'm here to pick up my books and such," I answered her, walking over toward her desk.

"Ah, yes! You must be Kurai-san," she smiled.

"Mizu… is fine…" I tried to twitch my mouth up into a smile, but my face failed on me.

"Well, I'll be right back. I'll go notify the principal," she stood up and walked down the hallway.

I slightly glanced at the hallway she walked down, and saw her enter another room. That room could also be mistaken as another classroom.

_This school really is rich… _I had a huge sweat drop formed in the back of my head.

"Mizu-san? You may come in now," she gestured to me.

"Thanks, um.." I glanced at her name tag, "Shizune-sensei."

I entered my new principal's office and the first characteristic I saw of her… was her two large breasts…

_T-That's our principal…?_

She also had two, yellow ponytails and a diamond-shaped thing on her forehead.

_A tattoo…?_

She was scribbling harder and with more frustration than the secretary outside. She also had a lot more paperwork on her desk, and on both sides of her desk. She had a growl on her face that made me cautiously approach her, hoping she didn't throw her chair at my head.

_She also looks like she needs anger management…_

"Hello, Mizu. My name is Tsunade. You can call me by anything but Tsunade-baa-chan, obaa-chan, or anything that hints that I'm old, understand?" she commanded more than questioned me.

"G-got-"

"Your locker. Your locker number. Your schedule," she took out those things with her other hand as she continued to write with the other. "Cause trouble in my school and you'll regret it. Have a nice day."

_She only glanced up at me once… _I was a bit freaked out. _She really is in a bad mood._

"Y-yeah…" I grabbed my items and walked out the door.

I handed my schedule to Shizune and she handed me my books. After that, I headed my way toward my first class.

"Good luck, Mizu-san!" she waved at me.

I merely nodded at her strangely and headed out the door looking for my class. I glanced down at my schedule and read my first class.

_Physics_

"Science class, huh? I don't even like science," I sighed and continued to read my schedule. "A-29, Hatake Kakashi… Now isn't that a weird name. Matches the weirdness of this school, I suppose."

I walked around for quite some time, trying to find my class, but had no luck. I once again looked down at my schedule.

"There wasn't a typo, was there?" I wondered, getting a bit impatient.

But suddenly, I crashed to the floor after bumping into something. My books fell to the ground with a thud along with my other necessities. I groaned with irritation and rubbed my head.

"Watch it, bitch!" a sassy voice hissed at me.

I glanced up to the person I had bumped into. She also fell down and glowered at me with her teeth gritted. She had long back hair and wore a tight tank top and sweats that seemed to have been rolled down to her hips. (Not mocking people who wear these. These clothes just fit her style for now). As I looked up, I saw two other boys glaring down at me as well.

_Oh shit… Don't tell me I made enemies on my first day… _I sighed tiredly.


	2. Meeting Weird People

I don't own Naruto and this is my re-edition.

* * *

I stood up and picked up my things. The girl was helped up by a boy that had blue, spiky hair. They still continued to glare at me.

"Sorry… about that," I boredly apologized.

"Runt! Watch where you're going next time!" the boy with spiky, blue hair scowled.

"Yeah…" I brushed it off. "Say, do you guys know where A-29 is?"

"Oh, I see. You're new around here, huh?" she smirked and slightly elbowed the boy with a wink

_No duh… And of course I can't see that wink of yours. _I held back from rolling my eyes.

"Well, if you're looking for that room, just head toward that door over there, go through, and when you turn left, you'll see A-29, right, Zaku?" she instructed.

"Oh… Thanks," I said with slight doubt.

As I was glanced back at where she pointed, I saw above that door the word 'Exit.' But the light had been broken, so not many people would have noticed that the door led outside. I turned back my head to tell them, but as I glanced behind them, I saw a certain classroom.

A-29.

_That liar! I'll wring her little-_

"Yo!" Zaku snapped his fingers at my face. "What are you standing around for. You look stupid. Get to class, or whatever."

"Pfft… Whatever…" I shoved my way past the,.

"What are you, deaf? Kin said it was that way. Don't tell me you're dumb enough that you can't even follow directions."

"Oh? Then does that make you guys are more idiotic than me for giving that direction?" I glared at them.

"What did you say, bitch?! You better watch your mouth and of who you're messing with!" he shouted at me.

"Oh no… The horror. I'm terrified," I scoffed. "You honestly think I'm scared? You think I'm dumb? Then you've just been outsmarted by one making you even more stupid than I am. A-29 Is clearly… right over there!"

I turned my back on them and stomped off.

"Ass wipes…" I muttered.

However, Zaku heard me and growled. I heard his footsteps run toward me with force. This made me glance back a bit.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" he lifted his fist and came down on my face.

I fully turned my body, dropping my books and blocked his punch, throwing it off to the side a bit. As he fell toward me on the side, I took a step away from him and pushed his back toward the floor. He fell face forward, but managed to soften the blow a bit by moving his head to the side. The girl named, Kin, gasped a bit and only stood there with her mouth gaped.

…_I'll take this chance to go to my classroom_

I headed my way toward the classroom that caused me so much trouble only to see a few people staring out the small window on the door. When they saw me stare at them, they hurried back to their seats making my eyebrow raise in I opened the door, everyone was completely silent that the only thing heard was the door creaking. Everyone stared at me as some of them started whispering.

_Well! This isn't awkward at all! _I walked in with the door closing behind me.

I looked around the room noticing that there was no teacher sitting at his desk, so my face scrunched up with question and wonder. I heard the sliding of a chair and someone's movement of walking toward me, so I turned my head toward the sound. A girl with short pink hair with green eyes walked toward me with a welcoming smile.

"Hello. I'm Haruno Sakura. I bet you're… wondering where our teacher is, huh?"

"Yes… Actually, I was."

"Don't worry about it. Kakashi-sensei is always late. We're actually pretty used to it…" Sakura huffed.

"Um… Yeah…" I still felt a little awkward.

"So what's your name?"

"Kurai Mizu," I introduced myself. "So I'm assuming you're in charge when the teacher isn't around?"

"Yup. I don't exactly do the seating though, so I guess for now, you can sit wherever you'd like," she nodded.

For this whole time, I could not take my eyes off her hair. It was one of the colors I disliked the most, but she didn't seem to be matching the personality of her hair. She seemed okay, but her hair still distracted me.

"Right," I shook it off. "Thanks."

"Oh, you know, actually," she stopped me. "I think there's an open seat next to… um Gaara."

"Gaara?"

"Yes. He's the boy with red hair over there," she pointed him out to me.

My eyes landed on the only boy in the room with red hair. And messy, no doubt. He sat there quietly with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against his chair without care. But one thing that got me curious were his eye lids. They were so dark and showed immediately that he had insomnia. Above his left eye, however, lay a certain kanji that I made out to mean love.

_Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed. _I blinked as I observed him.

He suddenly opened his eyes and met mine making me jump back in the slightest.

_Whoa! Thought he was sleeping…_

"Oh, don't worry, Mizu. As long as you don't get on his bad side, he won't do anything to you," she comforted me.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"You jumped just now, right? People would sometimes get scared the moment he looks at them," Sakura said while walking back to her desk. "But then, usually a few days later, a few girls swoon over him."

"…I'm not swooning over anything," I muttered. (HAHAHAHA!! It's presently too late now).

I also walked toward the desk next to Gaara's as people's eyes followed me. I sighed inwardly, noticing their stares. I sat down on the chair and put my head on the desk tiredly. That Gaara guy didn't look at me this time after he glanced at me in front of the class. I concluded he didn't care about my seating arrangement next to him. But what I did mind was the few students that still stared at me behind their shoulders like I wouldn't notice. I glanced up at them, but they looked away.

"…."

As I laid my head back down, some of them continued to look again. I tried to ignore them, but soon, someone walked up to my desk and just stood there. They continued to stare down at me, so I twitched and looked up at them.

"What!?" I yelled at them.

The person I yelled at was a girl who was not fazed by my annoyance. She continued to stand there and smile at me with a huge grin. In my opinion, I don't think she blinked even once.

_Is she… high on something? _

"HI!" she shouted in my face.

This caused me to jump back in my chair slightly at her sudden outburst.

"MY NAME IS TSUKI KAIREN AND I LIKE YOU! YOU'RE WEIRD! I LIKE BOBA, TOO!"

"H-hey… I'm Kurai Mi-"

"I LIKE YOUR NAME! I MEAN, DARK WATER?! HOW COOL IS THAT?! AND YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO _THE _GAARA! BE A GOOD GIRL AND DON'T BOTHER HIM! HE MIGHT POP UP OUT OF NOWHERE AND TACKLE YOU DOWN FROM THE DARK! RAWR!" she pretended to have claws and raised them above her head.

"You're… not confusing him with the Boogieman, are you?" I stared up at her strangely.

"Don't mind her; she had boba this morning," a boy with onyx eyes and dark blue hair walked up to her.

A few girl around him blushed a bit at him, which showed me that he was also a popular guy like Gaara, apparently.

"YOU WERE SO COOL OUT THERE! YOU WERE LIKE- PAH! PSHA! POW! POW! BUT WATCH YOUR BACK, OKAY!?"

_I really didn't do much…_ "Why…?" I asked.

Kairen pulled me out of my chair and looked back and forth with paranoia. Then she whispered in my ear.

"They're in a gang called The Sound!"

"'The Sound'?" I snickered. "Sure… I'll make sure they don't deafen my ears…"

"I'M SERIOUS!" she shook me with all her might. "IF YOU'RE CAUGHT, THEN! THEN! AHHHHHH!"

She hugged me and screamed making me wince. Her hug was so tight that I had a hard time breathing.

"Calm your girlfriend down, Uchiha," Gaara said with a monotone.

"Hn," he leered at Gaara. "Come on, Kairen. The only one making her get caught is you, so let go."

"OKIE DOKIE!" she let go.

As they left, Kairen madly waved at me and was forced to return to her seat. Except… she had put up her own childish fight making the guy almost fall. I had a small sweat drop on my forehead, but looked to other places in the room. The first thing I noticed was that some of the girls glared at Kairen… and at me…

…_Gaara. It's definitely Gaara. He really is someone who's popular. Oh just great. Look at what I got myself into._

My forehead laid against the desk, tiredly waiting for the teacher to arrive. Everyone decided to start chatting again, and I was glad that they finally ignored me and let my long day be less painful. Most of their conversations were loud, however, and I heard every single word they spoke. A few minutes passed as I lay there dazed, yet, the teacher hadn't arrived.

_I don't mind the teacher being late, but it's starting to get on my nerves a bit to have an irresponsible teacher. _I grumbled angrily under my breath.

The girl I met before, Sakura, had walked up to me and shortened my thoughts on angry rambles of my new teacher. There were a few more people behind her as well. I sat up straight and looked at them questioningly.

"I just thought you should meet my friends, Mizu," Sakura began. "They don't mind showing you around later on."

"…How… nice of them…?"

_People here aren't normal! They're either too nice, or too stoic. Why can't there be normal-… I'm not normal either. I shouldn't be talking…_

"Yo! Inuzuka Kiba," he grinned. He also had weird tattoo markings on two sides of his cheeks. His eyes and grin reminded me that of some form of wild dog.

I merely nodded and turned my eyes over to another boy who wore black sunglasses. He had really dark brown, spiky hair, but his posture told me he was the "cool" type of guy.

"Aburame Shino," he answered to my gaze at him.

"Hey," I replied.

"H-Hyuuga… Hinata," a girl with long blue hair answered shyly. The light had shown in her eyes, which made it looked like her eye color was silver. I wouldn't be surprised if people mistaken her to be blind.

"I'm Akimichi Chouji!" a somewhat round boy waved at me. He also had long hair, but it was hazel brown and a bit spiky. On his cheeks held tattoo like symbols, too.

_Do… people here fancy tattoos…? _I thought curiously.

"Do you have any food? Ino took mine away saying I needed to go on a diet…" he asked me, rubbing the back of his head.

"Chouji! I was supposed to introduce myself, too!" a girl with long, blonde hair scolded him with her hands on her hips. Her hair almost reminded me of the she-man I had met outside before. "Yamanaka Ino at your service! Ask me anything about the school and I'll tell you all about it!"

"Oi, Ino! We're _all _supposed to do that," Sakura grumbled.

"I have more knowledge than you, Forehead," Ino smirked confidently.

"What was that, Ino-pig?!"

The two girls began to fight and argue with each other making me back my chair away a bit. I heard a long, tiring sigh come from someone and turned my head over.

"Mendokuse…" he sighed. "Women really are troublesome…"

"Say what…?" I twitched.

"Nothing. I'm Nara Shikamaru," he rubbed the back of his head lazily.

"I'm sure we'll get along great…" I shook my head.

"Hi! Remember me? Tsuki Kairen," she waved. "I was really hyper a moment ago, but blame Mr. Uchiha Sasuke."

She pointed to the same dark blue haired boy that took her away a while ago.

"Why am I being blamed for your craziness?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You gave me boba!" she smiled.

"I recall that I refused, but you forced me to get it for you," Sasuke argued.

"But you agreed, anyway, so it's your fault," Kairen gave a fake evil laugh.

"Uchiha Sasuke, huh?" I repeated. _His name sounds familiar…_

"That's his name! Don't wear it out, Mizu!" Kairen patted me on the head.

"And you already know Gaara," Sakura gestured to him.

Gaara was still sitting there with his eyes closed, still uncaring about his surroundings. Suddenly, someone banged their hands on my desk and grinned in front of my face. Their sudden introduction also made Gaara open his eyes a bit.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO, DATTEBAYO!" he yelled.

I nearly had a heart attack as he screamed his name in front of my face, but everyone else seemed to have been used to it. Sakura had punched this boy named Naruto over the head before he could burst out another word.

"Don't mind him, Mizu. You'll get used to it," Sakura grinned kindly.

_Such an evil aura coming from her… _I had a sweat drop in the back of my head.

"So this is everyone that wants to show me around, huh. So many of you," I stated boredly.

"Actually," Ino spoke up, "there are three more, but they're a year older than us."

"Tenten, Lee, and Neji," Sakura added. "I'm sure they'll be glad to help you around the school, too."

"Thanks, I guess," I felt strange.

It wasn't everyday that so many people offer me help. It was a weird situation for me, but I was somewhat glad I didn't have to make enemies. I wouldn't want to be against the whole school.

_Like three years ago… _I recalled, but I shrugged it aside a few seconds later.

"But, we are going to warn you, Mizu," Kiba broke his grin and looked at me seriously. "Those two people, we wouldn't worry much about them, but it's who they hang out with. That's who you should worry about."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I'm not scared of them or who they hang out with," I waved it off.

"Still, try to be careful if they ever come in a bigger bunch," Kairen sounded serious all of a sudden.

_Whoa. She can get serious?_

"Yeah. Gaara and Sasuke would know more about it than we do," Naruto looked over at them.

Sasuke subconsciously touched his neck and scoffed on the side with a glare. Gaara, on the other hand, stared out the window as if he had not heard a word. The tension didn't last as the noise of the door slammed open, and footsteps walked in.

"Sumen, sumen," an apologetic voice spoke. "Let's get class started, shall we?"


	3. Boba and Bread

Another re-edition. I still don't own Naruto

* * *

"YOU'RE LATE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto pointed rudely at him.

A man with a medic mask came walking in with a book in his hand. His grey hair was slightly slanted to the side, while his eyes made him look laid back and somewhat weary.

…_Is our teacher sick? _I blinked at the sight of his mask.

"Sorry. I was busy trying to-" Kakashi began.

"He does it all the time, Naruto. What do you except?" Sasuke replied in a bored tone.

"It can't be helped. He probably stays out all night reading that book of his," Sakura shook her head.

Kakashi had a small sulking moment of his own, making me wonder if this man really was a teacher.

"But anyway, take out your notes, and please copy what I have on my slideshow, everyone," Kakashi started his lesson. "If you don't keep up, finish your notes from your book as homework."

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura realized something.

"Yes, Sakura. I know I said we were going to do labs this week, but I don't have the material, yet," Kakashi sighed and took out the machine for his slideshow.

"But, Kakashi-sensei-"

"No, Sakura. I won't pair you up with Ino. You two already have A's, and you both always end up fighting toward the end."

"No, Kakashi-sensei-"

"Yes, Sakura. I will stop skipping back and forth in our books, but let's finish this chapter for this week, shall we?" Kakashi continued to interrupt.

Sakura snapped. She stood up from her chair and banged her two fist onto the table to fully get Kakashi's attention. Her vein popped out of her forehead and she shouted loudly at Kakashi.

"WILL YOU LISTEN?! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT THERE'S A NEW STUDENT HERE! BUT YOU JUST KEEP INTERRUPTING ME OVER AND OVER AGAIN! SHANNARO!!!" her fist almost seemed to sizzle from punching the desk.

Kakashi had slightly backed up, but all he managed to say was, "Oh."

The students surrounding Sakura had moved their desk far from hers and from her fit. Even I had felt the need to back away from her, but I was a few rows away.

_And she said Gaara was scary…? _I kept that thought to and only to myself.

Sakura sat back down, calmly onto her seat and awaited for Kakashi to say something about it. Kakashi had opened up his drawer and pulled out a clip board. He flipped up one sheet up paper and his eyes scanned the second.

"So you are Kurai Mizu, then? Would you like to come up here and introduce yourself?" Kakashi gestured to the front of the classroom.

I sat there in a moment of pause for a while and looked around at everyone's glances. I, then, turned back to Kakashi and answered.

"No. Not really."

"Are you sure?"

"People know my name now; that's good enough," I waved it off.

"All right, then. Suit yourself. Now, the slide show is about-" Kakashi turned on the machine.

I decided to zone him out immediately. Science was never really something I was great at. Kakashi had also told us that we could do the notes from our book, so I might bring it home, or copy off of someone.

_Nah… I'll just take it home. Won't feel right of me to just copy off of people I've barely met. _I thought.

A few people in the class were also in my position. They quietly talked with their neighbor, or slept throughout the lesson. But, of course, there were others who paid attention and copied down the notes to finish earlier. Suddenly, my ears perked up and I looked toward the door. The door had quietly creaked open and a figure in the dark carefully closed it. My eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness, so I didn't see who it was. The person quietly tip-toed toward an empty seat that was in front of mine.

"Nice of you to join us, Hassha Kyohaku," Kakashi caught her immediately.

"Eek!" a feminine voice stopped her tracks.

"Is there a reason why you were late again?" he asked her.

"YOU CAN'T GIVE ME DETENTION! YOU WERE LATE, TOO, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she waved her arms up and down rapidly.

I saw something float out of her sleeves, but I had no idea what.

_Dust? _I blinked.

"She's right, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura defended her. "If she gets detention, then we're going to go report your tardiness to Tsunade-sama."

Kakashi chuckled nervously at the mention of our principal and turned back to Kyohaku and sighed.

"All right, all right."

"YAY!" the girl ran back to her seat happily.

"Our principal sounds like a woman to be feared," I mumbled out loud.

The girl heard my whispers and turned her glance over to me curiously. Being that she was sitting in front of me, I could make out her green eyes and long, dark brown hair. She grinned almost as wide as Naruto and waved at me ecstatically.

"Hi! What's your name? I haven't seen you around!"

"Kurai Mizu. I'm new here."

"Oh! I'm Hassha Kyohaku. AND I'VE GOT THE GIFT OF LOVE!" she stood up happily.

I had nearly flew away from my desk at her strange introduction to me. Hearts even flew out of her sleeves at her happiness. My eyes widened at such an abstract thing, and I kept my gaze, paranoid at her walking over to the side of my desk. She giggled in such a way that caused me to get goose bumps and back my desk back. But I had nowhere else to go as the fact that my desk was already touching Gaara's table. (lab partner thing, you know?)

"So! Do you want to find out who your lover is!?" bigger hearts flew from her sleeves.

I glanced around for help, but to everyone, even Kakashi, it seemed normal.

"U-uh. No thanks," I could only stutter.

"Oh come on, silly! Don't you want to find your true love who you'll be spending…"

She inched closer to my face.

"Your whole entire…"

She inched closer.

"Life with?!"

She left me no room to have my own personal bubble. I had to back away so far that I nearly fell backwards and hit Gaara on the shoulder. (WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE SO TALL!?). I could feel Gaara turn his eyes at me, silently warning me not to move any closer, and warning Kyohaku with his atmosphere not to be so loud.

_Damn it! This boy gives me such a foreshadowing feeling! _I was a bit intimidated, but at the same time, I felt like challenging his warning. However, my personal space was also being intruded upon, so I tried to find a way out of it.

"Well, what about you? Have _you _found anyone?" I tried to keep my calm.

Her face fell and she immediately retreated and stood there, mumbling incoherently.

"Well, I… uhh… Well, not yet, but I… uhh… No…" she sulked, one single, broken heart floating wearily out of her sleeve.

"So, you're helping _me_ because, why?" I questioned.

"No, no! I promise! I'm a really good matchmaker!" she tried to convince me. "See those two!?"

Kyohaku pointed to Kairen and Sasuke. Kairen had smacked Sasuke's head with her book, but he managed to whack it aside with little force. Kairen laughed lightly and threw a crumbled up paper at his face. It caught him by surprise and hit his forehead. Kairen winked and gave him a peace sign, showing him that it was her victory. Sasuke could only shake his head and smirk.

"…Yeah? What about them?" I looked back at Kyohaku.

"I got them together!" she pointed to herself proudly.

"Oh. That's nice of you. But, seriously, I'm not interested in any of that stuff right now," I shook my head.

"DENIAL!" she banged her hand on my desk.

"Don't worry! I'm also a psychologist!" Kyohaku wore glasses out of no where. "I know you're in denial! Tell Kyohaku all about it!"

_She doesn't even have any pockets… Where did she get those glasses?_

"I don't mean to be rude, but… my life is personal."

"Oh.." she looked a bit sad and disappointed.

"…I guess… I can tell you when I feel like it," I sighed. _Since when have I gone soft? On someone I barely met, no doubt._

Kyohaku immediately lifted her head and jumped up an down excitedly. The school bell rang and everyone gathered their items and calmly, or happily, left the classroom. Kyohaku had not taken her things out in the first place, so she had been the first one out. But she peaked back through the door and waved at me.

"It was nice meeting you! And don't worry! I'll find your lover for you!" she grinned and sprinted back out.

"But I don't need- Ah. Whatever," I sighed as she had already left.

My next class was history, and I had noticed that the classroom was just a few doors down when I was outside. Being that, I gathered my things slowly and wearily, becoming the last one in the class. I passed by Kakashi's desk and he smiled at me through his mask.

"Have a nice day," he waved.

"If it will be nice…" I mumbled to myself and shut my eyes tiredly.

"You, too, Gaara-kun," Kakashi spoke up again.

"Huh?" I looked back at Kakashi, wondering what he was talking about.

Suddenly, I bumped into someone and backed away, rubbing my head. I looked to see that I had bumped into none other than Gaara himself.

_Crap…_

"Didn't see you there. Sorry," I shook my head.

I had expected him to ignore me and walk off, or at least give me a cold stare, then brush off my apology. But he said something that slightly took me back.

"Don't be clumsy next time, or you'll run into a wall," he muttered and walked off with his backpack over one shoulder.

_Say what?_

I stood there dazed for the moment at the fact that Gaara had not done what I expected him to do. I would have never thought Gaara as the type to easily brush off someone bumping into him and walking away with a minor insult.

_Insult… He insulted me! And- ELEVEN WORDS?! HE SPOKE- HE INSULTED ME?! This guy, he's not what I expected at all._

"Bumping into does not make me clumsy, you hear?!" I called after him.

He didn't respond.

"DON'T CHOOSE TO IGNORE ME _NOW_!" I shook my fist after him. "Hey!"

But Gaara only ignored me even more and walked into his next class.

"That guy…" I twitched.

I scoffed and also entered my next class before the bell rang. What I didn't realize that someone had hid within the shadows, watching that scene the entire time. The figure quietly giggled, and her dark brown hair flew behind her as she ran to her own classroom **as well.**


	4. Shopping Oh no

Disclaimer: so how is my re-editing going? I still don't own Naruto

* * *

As I expected, my day in school dragged on for the longest time in my mind. Since I began long after school started, there were many things I needed to catch up on in my classes, which made my mind more weary before I even got to it. This time, I was the first to leave my class and rushed out of the door; school was finally over. However, before I managed to even get through the door, someone yanked me backwards and shook me violently.

"MIZU! MIZU! WE'RE GOING TO THE MALL!" Kyohaku yelled in my face happily.

"….Good for you," I nodded and walked out of her grasp.

"No, no! What she meant to say was, do you want to come with us, Mizu? Give us a chance to hang out," Kairen smiled.

"Yeah, so we can get to know each other better," Sakura agreed.

"AND I'LL HELP YOU FIND YOUR PRINCE CHARMING!" hearts flew out of Kyohaku's sleeves.

"…I don't do 'prince charming.' And the mall isn't exactly what I call hanging out," I shook my head.

"What else do you call a mall?" Ino asked me.

"A chore."

"Oh, come on, Mizu! Shopping is fun! You can't possible say you don't like it!" Ino gaped at me.

"Can and will. Shopping for clothes is too much work," I stated bluntly.

"We understand how you feel, Mizu," Shikamaru muttered in the background along with a few other boys.

Sakura and Ino gave them lightning glares making most of them freeze on the spot and look away nervously.

"What the boys meant to say was," Sakura smiled happily at me. "that they love to hang out with us, too!"

"…I'm very convinced about your statement, Sakura. But I think I'll still pass," I began to walk off.

"We have no choice, girls…" Kairen nodded.

"Hinata, are you going to join in this time?" Naruto whispered in the back.

"N-no. I-it's o-okay," Hinata blushed slightly.

"No choice?" I paused and glanced behind me.

"We go to plan B."

"What's plan-"

Suddenly, Kyohaku tackled me down and sat on me. Ino and Kairen had somehow managed to take out some rope and hurried toward my ankles and wrists.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I struggled violently.

I looked toward the boys and they stood there talking to each other like everything was normal.

"You're not going to help!?" I yelled at them.

"They do this to us all the time when we don't want to go," Naruto chuckled nervously.

"They also do worse if we try to help…" Kiba added.

I struggled harder making Ino and Kairen slip and failed to tie me. They looked to Sakura for help.

"She's too strong!" Ino yelled.

"And violent!" Kairen also struggled.

"Understood!" Sakura went over.

I continued to struggle as Sakura closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"SHANNARO!!" she screamed and rolled me over onto my stomach.

Kyohaku at this time stood up really quick and sat on my back happily. Sakura also sat on me to be cautious as Ino and Kairen tied me up with success.

"I pity the new girl," Chouji scratched his cheek.

All the girls managed to carry me outside to the parking lot as I continued to struggle under their grasp. Three other people seemed to have been waiting for them.

"What took you guys so long?" the girl with two hair buns said.

"Who is that?" a boy with a bobbed-hair cut stared at me.

"I'M A VICTIM, DAMN IT! DOES EVERYBODY FIND THIS SITUATION NORMAL!?" I cursed.

"It's as normal as it can get," stated a boy with long hair.

"Oh, Mizu. These are the tree seniors we were talking about," Sakura just smiled at me happily. "That's Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hyuuga Neji.

_Hyuuga? _I looked over to Hinata.

"Oh, so you're the new girl," Tenten looked at me curiously. "Didn't see you at lunch."

"That's because I skipped lunch, stole a basketball from the gym, and went out to the basketball court," I answered.

"Oh? You play basketball?"

"No, I'm retired, but I play by myself. Wait, why the hell am I having a nice conversation with you? I'M FREAKING TIED UP HERE!"

"Get used to it if you continue to struggle," Neji walked into what seemed to be his car.

"You're so helpful, aren't you," I rolled my eyes.

"I'll go start the car, Kairen," Sasuke went over to his car as well.

"Okay! SHOTGUN!" she declared.

"Kairen, you always get shotgun next to Sasuke, anyway," Tenten shook her head.

"It's fun calling it out."

"WILL YOU PEOPLE LET ME GO YET?!"

"Sure we will!" Ino smirked and threw me in a car.

"This is not what I had in mind," I tried to untie myself in the car seat.

"I wouldn't bother. They practice a lot with tying up others," Kiba climbed in the back seat.

"……."

"It's troublesome, isn't it?" Shikamaru sighed and climbed in after Kiba.

"NO, NO, WAIT! I WANT THE MIDDLE!" Naruto rushed in.

"Looks like I'm going… shopping…" I sighed in defeat. "So who's driving…?"

My question was answered when someone with red hair entered the driver's seat. He glanced at me with an impassive face and started his car, reversing out of the parking lot.

"YOU?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I growled.

"I'm driving."

…_Are the girls scary enough to get Gaara to go with them, too…?_

"Gaara only comes because Naruto asks him to," Shikamaru seemed to have read my mind. "Gaara seems to be the only one willing to listen to Naruto's rambling."

"I don't ramble!" Naruto pouted.

Kiba snorted.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

I stay silent for the most part after that and sat on my seat tiredly, wishing I could still escape the inevitable journey of shopping with the girls. I glanced behind me to see what the boys were doing after. It seemed typical for Shikamaru to sleep, so I wasn't surprised that he slept in the car, too. Kiba looked to be in thought as her stared out the window. Naruto just sat there with a goofy grin on his face like I've seem him throughout the school day.

"…So…" I began slowly. "How's life?"

"Meh," Kiba shrugged.

Shikamaru just twitched a bit and continued sleeping.

"Life is the best! There's been cool manga these days and the T.V. shows are hilarious. OH! AND THERE'S RAMEN!" Naruto gaped at his own words.

"Ramen? I've heard of it, but never actually tried it for real. Just in those cups," I thought out loud.

"Cup Ramen is great, too, BUT RAMEN IN A BOWL IS SO WORTH THE WAIT! Although I hate waiting three minutes for it," Naruto sighed.

For someone reason, Naruto got me to laugh inwardly. I already had a hard time holding back a small smile, but soon, it turned into a deep frown, and I faced forward to the front.

_So carefree… like… Metaru…_

I sighed and also began to stare out the window in a daze, watching the buildings and trees zoom past me. Without realizing it, I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep. After some time, the car stopped vibrating and bumping beneath me. Yet, I took no notice and laid back in my own comfy position.

"We're here. Get up," a voice echoed through my ears.

I had my eyes closed, but my mind slowly began to wake and barely processed what the voice said.

"I said get up."

I felt someone shake me and I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"Hmm…" I groaned tiredly and slowly blinked my eyes open.

As my vision stopped it's blurriness, I came into contact with a pair of teal eyes.

"HOLY SH-" I jolted awake and bumped my head on the car ceiling. "OW!"

"Clumsy girl," the same voice mumbled.

I paused from rubbing my head and turned quickly to the opened car door. It was definitely Gaara; no one calls me that but him.

"Well, if you hadn't been so close, I wouldn't-!"

"Just get out of the car," he ordered me again.

My mind realized again that I was sitting in the car. I look behind me to see that Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba were no longer inside and I looked down at my wrists and ankles.

"When did-"

"Naruto untied you when you fell asleep," Gaara walked away.

"Hey, don't just leave me in here!" I leaped out of the car with a scowl.

As I caught up with him, I glared from behind him the whole time, muttering to myself.

"Wasn't my fault you scared me to death with your freaking eyes…"

I looked up and noticed that I had went through the automatic entrance into the mall. As much as I hated shopping malls, I couldn't help but widen my eyes at this one. It had everything you can find in shopping malls along with arcades, its own restaurants, and even a movie theater… that was temporarily closed.

_My escape really in inevitable…_

"Mizu!! Over here!" Kyohaku waved at me.

I trekked over and looked at her boredly.

"What…?"

"Come on, come on! Let's go over there!" she pointed to a clothing store.

"Need I to point out the even more obvious? I. Hate. Shopping," I emphasized the word hate.

"Just one shirt, then?" Kairen pushed me inside.

"What?"

"Yeah! We'll just look one shirt for you!" Ino pulled on my arm.

"Don't take a whole hour, then…"

"What makes you say that?"

"I have my reasons…"

The girls left me at the entrance and sprinted off in the store, searching around. Tenten wasn't as hyper as all of them, and Hinata was being… Hinata. I exhaled and sat down on those ledges near the store window and glanced behind me. I saw a lot of the boys hanging around outside, or wandering off on their own.

_If they're not shopping with the girls, why are they forced here? _I blinked, but shrugged it off.

Suddenly, something was thrown at my face and I slightly twitched. I lazily took the shirt off my head and observed it. The shirt was grey that had a few decorations on the side that I couldn't really describe since they were clumped together. But on the shirt in big white words, it spelled ELEMENTS.

"This is…?"

"It's your shirt, silly!" Kyohaku giggled. "I especially chose it for you!"

"Oh happy day?" I blinked.

"Well? Go on. Go try it on," Sakura ushered me to the dressing room.

"Okay, okay."

As I put on the shirt, I glanced at the mirror and blinked.

_I guess it's not so bad… Could've been worse._

"Well? How does it fit?" Kairen called from outside.

"We want to see!" Ino hollered.

I walked out of the dressing room and the girls cheered and smiled happily.

_They get excited too easily. It's just a shirt._

"Do you like it?" Hinata asked shyly.

"It's okay," I shrugged. "At least it wasn't something bright."

"See? I told you not to get her light yellow," Kairen smirked at Sakura and Ino.

"You win this round, Kairen," Sakura crossed her arms.

Tenten had not been with the group, but she had come back with black cargo pants that had pockets on every side.

"Here. Try this on, too," she grinned at me.

So I did. As I came back out again, Tenten gave me a thumbs up as the other girls continued cheering. What bothered me the most was Kyohaku twirling around with sparkling happy faces flying from her sleeves.

"We got an outfit for Mizu! Mission accomplished!" Sakura raised her fist in the air.

"You've got to be kidding me…" I shook my head. "But anyway, since you're all done kidnapping me, I'll just return the clothes back now."

"You're not going to buy it?" Kairen asked.

"No money. I wasn't expecting to be taken hostage," I looked to Sakura who looked way, scratching her cheek.

"Have no fear! Ino's here!" Ino was pumped up. "I always carry money!"

"I'm sure you do, but I don't really need-"

But before I finished my sentence, she pushed me toward the register and had the employee scan the tags on the shirt and pants. After she paid, she immediately ripped off the price tags and pushed me back toward the group.

"TA DA!"

"Wait! I'm actually going to be going around with something you _just _got me?!"

"Why not? We'll take care of your old clothes for you, so no worries!" Kyohaku grabbed my clothes and stuffed them in a big purse that I didn't realize she had. "NOW LET'S DO MORE SHOPPING!"

"NO!" I shouted and ran out the store.

"…You went too fast there, Kyohaku…" Tenten sighed.

"Whoops?"

I ran as far as I could from the store, and stopped to catch my breath.

"RAMEN! RAMEN! RAMEN!" I heard a familiar voice chant somewhere.

I looked to my right to see a ramen restaurant right in front of me.

"Ichiraku Ramen?" I blinked and entered.

As I had thought, Naruto was sitting inside, slurping down ramen joyfully. Chouji and Shikamaru had decided to join him, too, but it shocked me to see that Naruto had eaten more bowls than Chouji did. Shikamaru was only on his second one.

_Ramen here must be really good._

As I walked toward them, I saw another girl chatting with Shikamaru.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them.

"Ah! Mizu! I was wondering where you were. Here, here! I'll order some ramen for you; my treat!" Naruto called over a man.

"Naruto, you don't even have that much money considering how many bowls you ate," Shikamaru sighed.

"It's fine; I'll pay," the girl who sat next to them said.

"Really!?" Naruto cried happily.

"But you owe me big," she smiled innocently making Naruto gulp.

"So who's your friend?" I looked to Shikamaru.

"She's my cousin. Ran into her today and she decided to torture us," he sighed.

"You make me sound so evil," she patted his head really hard. "Yo! I'm Atamagaokashii Melyni!"

"…Say what?" I heard her long name echo through my head.

"…J-just call me Melyni."

"Got it."

As I waited for my ramen to finish cooking, I conversed with Melyni and got to know her better since there wasn't really anything else to talk about with someone I just met. Naruto had ordered a lot, so my ramen had to wait. Speaking of Naruto, I've concluded that she loves to scare him out of his wits and there were times when I somewhat pitied him, but found it funny at the same time. She also went to a college called Kirigakure. A while later, everyone else slowly arrived one by one and we all chatted away. But soon, everyone went silent and had nothing else to talk about.

"…I'm bored," Melyni complained.

She stood up from her seat and walked off in a random direction.

"Mendokuse… What is she going to do this time?" Shikamaru muttered.

He also stood up and went after her as did everyone else, wondering why Shikamaru, of all people, would actually stand up and follow instead of being lazy. My ramen had arrived at the time, so I was too busy slurping it down, agreeing with Naruto inwardly that it tasted great. But as I looked up, everybody was already gone.

"…Where did…" I looked around. "…They ditched me didn't they… YOU DON'T DITCH YOUR OWN HOSTAGE LIKE THAT! No wait… Now I'm free."

I turned to my right to get out of my chair, but I saw someone sitting next to me. It was none other than the boy with red hair, teal eyes, and a tattoo that bewildered many. I practically jumped back on my chair, nearly falling off.

"Do you _like _to scare me to death, or do you do it subconsciously?!" I growled at him.

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow and went back to his own ramen that he ordered.

_He's thinking it… I know he is.. "Clumsy girl." Well he should stop sneaking up on me._

I decided to try and ignore Gaara and also ate my ramen quietly. We never said a word to each other as we slurped away the noodles. I glanced up slightly to hear the bubbling of water and stared at it, wondering why it sounded so loud. I assumed it was because of the awkward silence between Gaara and me, so everything else reached my ears easily. I continued to stare at the boiling water, my eyes slowly digressed into sadness as a memory filled my head.

_**~flashback~**_

"_**Metaru! Don't go near the stove!" my fourteen-years-old self cried.**_

"_**What? ITAI! Ow, ow, ow!" a young boy had the bubbling water spill on him.**_

"_**I told you… The water could just pop out on its own. Where it hurt?" I sighed.**_

"_**M-my shoulder," Metau winced.**_

"_**Here," I came over to him with bandages.**_

_**I quietly cleaned his wound and bandaged his shoulder. As I finished, I closed my eyes and sighed.**_

"_**It's not a severe burn, but it will leave you a scar."**_

"_**You must think I'm an idiot, huh…" Metaru whispered sadly.**_

"_**A cute idiot," I ruffled his hair and stood up, putting away the bandages.**_

"_**You think I'm an annoying kid, huh. You always say that about the other kids you babysit."**_

"_**That's because their spoiled. But the difference is, you're my annoying brother," I smiled at him. "Also, you would be the first one I come to help rather than them if either of you were in trouble. I was fortunate to have come across your school earlier than usual, or those bullies would've beaten you up."**_

"_**But what if that was only luck? What if you were somewhere far like, like Australia! Or, or the North Pole!"**_

"_**Well, for one thing, I don't think I'd survive in the North Pole. And another, I would definitely fly back like Superman to save you," I laughed.**_

"_**No, no! Superman is a boys job! So I'll come and rescue **_**you!" **_**Metaru corrected me.**_

"_**Oh? Is that so? The Great Metaru coming to save the day!" I picked him up and ran around the room, holding him in a position that resembled Superman's.**_

_**He laughed and made punching motions.**_

"_**Bam! Ka Pow! Take that you evil bully! No one touches my sister!" he attacked an imaginary bully.**_

_**After a while of "fighting evil," Metaru and I collapsed on the couch laughing, or in Metaru's case, giggling. A moment of silence passed by as we stared at the ceiling. Metaru was the first one to speak up.**_

"_**Nee-chan? Are you really going to come and help me when I need it? No matter how far you are?" he asked innocently.**_

"_**Yeah. I'll always be there for you. Where else would I be?" I nodded.**_

"_**Promise?"**_

"_**Promise," I held out my pink to take his and smiled.**_

_**~End Flashback~**_

_Metaru… _I shut my eyes.

"The same eyes," a voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I looked over to see that Gaara had spoke to me.

"You had the same look in your eyes in the car when you were talking to Naruto," he looked at me.

"I… Wait, you were looking at me?!" I nearly had a heart attack.

"It's not that hard to notice when you zone out like that," he said in a monotone.

I scoffed and looked down at my empty ramen bowl, my chopsticks still in hand. I closed my eyes and answered.

"It's my brother…"

From the side of my eyes, I saw Gaara look up in slight astonishment that I had decided to tell him what it was that got me dazed out. I felt awkward telling him about something personal, too, but my mind wouldn't tell me that. I slightly glanced over at Gaara and saw that he was still looking at me as if waiting for me to continue. So I did.

"I had… promised my little brother that… I would always be there for him. But out of the blue, my parents went and got a divorce. My mom left with my brother and I with my dad, but I overheard them talking over the phone with each other. It looked like they were talking about sending me here on my own… But even before that, I rarely got a connection with my brother. He would either be at school, a babysitter, or sleeping…"

I glanced up at the ceiling and smiled sadly.

"But I did hear he was an artistic kid at school. Yet, now… I don't hear from him at all. I hate it. I hate them for doing this to me and my brother. They took him away from me. They took my friends away from me. How could they possibly sink any lower as to taking away something else from me?"

I clenched my two hands into a fist and gritted my teeth. I then slammed them both on the table making the bowls and chopsticks clatter, but I drew no attention from anyone. I calmed down after a while and unclenched my hands, looking over to Gaara.

_You probably drove him away with your freaky talk. _I thought to myself.

He was still there. It puzzled me. Why was he still sitting around, looking at me as if he were listening the whole time? I tried to figure out what he was thinking, or how he was feeling about what I just talked about, but his face remained impassive. But one thing that bothered me the most was that his eyes look directly into mine. It made me shudder a bit, so I looked back down at my bowl of ramen as if I wasn't nervous of his gaze.

"Life… could be unfair," he suddenly spoke.

It made me jump up a bit, but I neither answered him or looked back up at him. He continued not knowing whether or not I was listening.

"Things are given and things are taken away. No matter how bad things get, something better always can come from it if you look past your grudges. Take now, for instance: You have made many friends that didn't know anything about you and were willing to treat you as if you were a part of them all along. Let go of your anger and try to get to a better future."

I stared up at him, eyes shaking in shock and astonishment. Gaara had closed his eyes by this time, arms crossed, and leaning back on his chair. I was left speechless.

_That was more than thirty words, too…_

A small smile escaped my lips, but it was barely noticeable by anyone.

"So philosophical. When did you get so wise?" I could only joke.

"Uzumaki Naruto made me realize these things," he simply answered.

_Oh? So Gaara had a grudge before- _I stopped my train of thought.

"NANI?! NARUTO!?" I screamed making me fall off my chair.

I groaned in pain and heard Gaara once again mutter a, "clumsy girl…"


	5. The Girl Called Atamagaokashi Melyni

Disclaimer: Boy, this re-editing is fun. I don't sound noobish as much as I did in the beginning. Anyway! I don't own Naruto.

* * *

I had gotten back up on my chair, glowering at Gaara for calling me a clumsy girl again.

_It's usually not my fault._

"What was that all about, Melyni?" a voice sighed with weariness.

I made it out to be Shikamaru's voice and turned around to see everyone coming back. I abruptly stood up from my chair again and growled as they approached.

"First you kidnap me, then you head off somewhere on you own! WHERE DID YOU GUYS GO!?" I exclaimed.

"Calm down, Mizu," Kairen chuckled nervously. "We thought you followed."

"Actually, I was going to make a run for it. But then I got occupied with…" I glanced over at Gaara. "What were you guys doing, anyway?"

"Melyni did something stupid and dangerous again," Shikamaru shook his head.

"Again? She does something like that all the time?!" Ino waved her arms madly.

"What did she do?" I blinked.

"Oh, nothing special. I just back-flipped off the railing upstairs, made a few cars crash into each other, then entered through the entrance. Now here I am again," she smiled.

"…WHAT?! YOU'RE COMPLETELY MAD!" I stared at her in shock.

"No. I was bored," she corrected me.

"And she's supposed to be older than us?" I muttered to Shikamaru.

"She is troublesome after all…"

"I'm not deaf! There's nothing wrong with being bored! Like right now!"

She walked over to Gaara.

"What is she doing now?" Shikamaru puffed.

She came over and stared at Gaara, then she raised a finger at his forehead. Gaara merely stared back with no emotion.

"…You're a poopiehead…" she said in a childish way.

Everyone was silent. For some odd reason, only the wind blew by as the silence continued. I started to snicker, but stopped since I didn't want things to be more awkward than it was. Gaara only raised a non-existent eyebrow at her and went to pay for his food.

"Only Melyni would do something like that," Shikamaru had a small sweat drop on his forehead.

But she ignored everyone and continued with her boredom.

"Oh, oh! So you're too cool for me now, huh!? Fine, fine! I'll just stop talking to you!" she pouted.

"I don't think he really cares…" Sasuke mumbled.

"He does care! And he'll like it!" she smacked Sasuke.

"That doesn't make sense," Naruto scratched his head.

"_You _don't make sense, Naruto. _You _don't make sense!"

"Ah… How about we all just walk around the mall and see if we can find anything else to do?" Chouji suggested.

"This is all too troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

But in the end, everyone really did walk around the mall trying to look for something to do. As usual though, the girls made their way into clothing stores while the boys wait outside. The more clothes they bought, the more the boys had to carry their bags. Well, only the "lucky" ones were chosen: Sasuke, Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru, and Neji. Everyone else didn't have to and they seemed to be relieved.

_So that's why the boys are forced to go… They get to carry their bags… I guess I wasn't the only one suffering, then. _I shook my head.

As I walked toward the back, I saw Melyni easily walk off from the group and no one noticed. I looked at her curiously and decided to follow her myself since there was nothing else for me to do. No one would notice that I disappeared either since I had been walking behind everyone. I saw her turn the corner, so I did as well. But when I got around, she wasn't there. I blinked back questioningly and continued to walk forward, wondering if I could find her.

"Why are you following me?" a voice asked from behind me.

"Eh?" I glanced behind me.

But suddenly, I bumped into someone and stumbled backwards. Unfortunately for him, he stumbled forward and bumped into the next person in front of him. Then that person fell forward and fell upon the next person. This continued for everyone that had been standing in line at a book store, supposedly awaiting to buy a new book. But the book store is irrelevant; I had actually caused human dominoes…

"That's not good…" I backed away from all of them, not wanting an angry mob going after me.

I then remembered that someone was behind me and turned around to see Melyni giving me a strange look.

_Oh… She saw…_

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my head.

"Listen, I'm just as bored as you, so, can I hang out with you for a while? I don't want to be dragged into anymore clothing stores."

"Sure," she shrugged. "I was getting tired of torturing them, too. There are many victims around here, anyway."

She had grinned at me innocently and walked off somewhere random. I grinned at her with interest and followed. I got to understand what Melyni had meant when she said to torture others; as we entered shops, we managed to get kicked out, or scolded at because we messed around. But it was worth it because it had been entertaining for the both of us. We eventually bought candy and ended up getting a sugar rush that made us laugh and joke around as if we knew each other for years.

Soon, we passed by a store that held pink, girly clothing (I found out that such a store exists… and it frightens me…) and had many girls inside, giggling, whining, or being stuck up in an annoying way. Behind the many racks of pink clothes were thousands of make-up. And I must point out that many were fake. I shuddered in disgust.

"Psh! Girly girls… 'Oh, look at me! I'm so cool! I wear pink and lip gloss! I look like a loser and dance to those stupid songs that mean nothing!'" Melyni mocked them in a high-pitched voice. "BAH! Stupid girls…"

I laughed at her impersonation of them and it so happened that one of them passed by us. Melyni "accidentally" stuck her foot out causing the girl to trip and fall flat on her face. I could not hold back my laughter and had to clutch my stomach at this time.

(Once again, I mean no offense to those who likes pink and make-up. This is comedy related and no pink frilly girl was harmed during the process).

"MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!" she cried.

"Oh, what a tragedy… Well, now you can go get plastic surgery; you'd look twice as better than you do now," Melyni smiled.

The girl ran away crying, but tripped on her own feet this time.

"I only meant it as a joke…" Melyni coughed and looked around with shifty eyes.

I completely snapped. I could no longer hold in my amusement. I knelt down to the floor, clutching my stomach and laughed for the longest time. Even in pain, I continued to laugh and started to tear up from it. A few minutes passed and I continued to chuckle, but chose to look up at this time. Everyone around me had stopped to stare and whisper about my abnormal performance. Melyni backed away slowly from me and looked around suspiciously.

"I DON'T KNOW HER! I SWEAR! SHE'S JUST A STALKER!" Melyni ran off.

I finally stopped laughing and stood up, chasing after her. I yelled after her, but she continued to run away. This little game of chase went on for quite a while. Being that, we often crashed into many people, ruined mini stands placed inside the mall, and would run inside the store, accidentally toppling down clothing racks. Melyni, at one time, rolled out with a clothing rack.

"Wheeeee!" she cried.

"Hey! That's not fair!" I continued to chase after her.

"Too bad! Not my fault you didn't take a scooter!"

"That's a clothing rack!"

"Tomato, tamato," she shrugged.

I had picked up my speed to catch up to Melyni's unique scooter and forced myself to jump far. I managed to grab onto it and stood next to Melyni as we rolled down the mall, nearly running over people. Of course we didn't find it funny that we nearly had people falling over the railings. (heheh… right…).

"Ano sa, ano sa!" Naruto pointed as he saw two people rolling on the other side. "Wasn't that Mizu and Melyni?"

"That's impossible, Naruto! They're right… here?" Sakura turned around toward the back only to see that they had disappeared.

"What… were they doing?" Kiba asked slowly.

"Mendokuse…" Shikamaru sighed. "We better make sure they don't do anything else dangerous."

"What's more dangerous than running people over with a clothing rack?" Kairen blinked.

"Remember last summer, I told you guys I had to go to a party for my cousin's friend?" he asked.

"What about it?" Sasuke questioned.

"Melyni ended up eating too much sweets and… let's just say that she was the cause of the cakes that ended up on your roof for three whole days."

"_That _was her?!" Ino nearly jumped back.

"Wasn't the location of your party no where near where we lived?!"

"That's why we have to go stop them before they do anything else," Shikamaru had started running.

"So how did that happen, anyway?" Tenten and everyone else ran along with Shikamaru.

"I have no idea… Melyni… did not recall a thing."

"You mean after she ate so much sweets, she completely forgot what she had done?" Neji didn't seem to believe it.

"That's right…"

"I want to see Mizu hyper!" Kyohaku clapped her hands as happy faces flew from her sleeves.

"Thank goodness Kairen isn't hyper with them," Sasuke glanced at her.

"Hey!"

Melyni and I walked around again as if nothing had ever happened. I looked around and turned to Melyni.

"Say. What happened to that clothing rack that we had been riding?"

"Who knows," she shrugged and continued walking.

We were both oblivious that behind us, the unique scooter had crashed into a wall and near that, books had been toppled over along with people groaning and trying to stand up. Melyni and I casually walked, at times grinning stupidly at something random or funny. We suddenly past the frilly, pink store and something perked our interest.

"Looks like you got a leak, all right. But no worries. As long as you keep them fires away, we'll get 'em fixed tomorrow," a man's voice assured.

Melyni and I glanced at each other slyly, a plot forming within our minds.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I smirked.

"That cellphones are rabid?" Melyni nodded.

"…"

"I'm kidding! I know what you're thinking."

"But how are we going to pull it off?"

"There's an air vent that turns on here and there, sucking in the bad smell the girls complain about it. Too bad. The bad smell is their perfume," Melyni shrugged.

"How did you know there's an air vent?" I blinked.

"I have the blueprints to this mall."

"How did you get- Nevermind…" I thought against asking. "So we going to use a candle?"

"Yup!"

"You have a match?"

"Yup!"

"…Wait a second. How did you manage to get those?"

"From the store we passed by a moment ago," Melyni pointed happily at a candle store, half of the place in ruins.

"Oh." I stared as if it was normal.

"We've got five minutes."

"How are we going to do this?"

"They'll fall for anything. Just sneak the candle into the air vent, light it up, and you're out."

"What!? I'm not going in… there!" I glanced at the shop in disgust.

"Oh, fine. I'll do it," Melyni rolled her eyes.

I watched Melyni nonchalantly walk into the store and toward the air vent. One of the workers there stopped her and conversed with her for a short while, but then left. Melyni continued toward the vent, lit the candle, and placed it inside. She came outside as if nothing had occurred.

"Did you have any trouble?" I implied about the employee stopping her.

"Nope! Just told them the candle was to make the place smell better," she grinned. "Now we have three minutes to get out of her."

"…"

"…"

We both looked at each other and yelled out in horror, "THE DOOR'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING!"

No sooner had we exclaimed that, we both sprinted off as fast as we could, looking for the exit. The gang had also begun to run toward us, nearly out of breath from searching for Melyni and me. However, we paid no attention to them and continued running.

"There you are- Hey! Where are you guys going?!" Sakura yelled after us as we ran past them.

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!" I shouted back.

"JUST RUN!" Melyni added.

Everyone stared at us strangely, but ran after us, not knowing what else to do.

"We're running again?!" Chouji complained.

"Don't whine! Who knows what they did! Run if you don't want to get in trouble!" Ino scolded.

As soon as everyone made it out of the mall, Melyni and I came to a halt, stared at each other, and walked casually toward the parking lot. Everyone else had barely managed to keep up after our panic run, but caught up nonetheless.

"What were you two running for?" Lee asked, out of breath.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Don't 'huh' us!" Naruto pointed rudely. "What were you guys running for?! What did you do!?"

"Oh… uhh…" I glanced at Melyni.

"What _were _we running for?" Melyni scratched her head.

"You don't remember after all…" Shikamaru sighed tiredly.

"You weren't kidding when you said they would forget," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sasuke glanced down at Kairen and noticed how tired she was after that long run. She looked as if she was ready to sleep standing on her feet. Her grasped the side of her shoulder and leaned her toward his own, glancing up at everyone else.

"We better head home. Everyone's probably tired," he announced.

"AHH! THAT'S RIGHT! I STILL HAVE THAT PROJECT TO FINISH!" Tenten exclaimed in horror.

"That project was assigned to us two weeks ago and you still haven't completed it?" Neji asked.

Tenten looked away stubbornly and pouted. "Shut up…"

"And I still need to find people's true love!" Kyohaku jumped out with hearts fluttering and popping from her sleeves.

"Count me out," I walked away quickly, heading toward the car I originally came in.

"Guys?" Kiba spoke up. "I can't shake this feeling that something's wrong."

"Now that you mention it… I think we did something, Mizu?" Melyni glanced at me questioningly.

"Yeah… I feel that, too…"

"So what _did _you guys do?" Shino asked.

_**BOOM!**_

Everyone turned around rapidly, taking in the sight behind them. One side of the mall had completely exploded and smoke rose from the hole. The screams of girls echoed all the way toward the parking lot, crying for help. A few others ran around crying, shouting about the fire on their heads but attempted nothing to put it out. If Melyni and I had still been hyper, this would have been a funny sight. But now that we were back to normal, we stared in awe at how "smart" those girls were being. A fire truck suddenly sped past us and headed in the direction of the smoke. Everyone stared for a few seconds and looked over at Melyni and me with sweat drops displayed on their foreheads.

"…Oops…" Melyni and I said at the same time.


	6. Detention? Chase? Fangirls? What's next?

Disclaimer: So, how's my re-editing so far? I don't own Naruto

* * *

The ride back seemed shorter than it did heading to the mall. Gaara dropped off Naruto first and headed toward my own home after. Of course, I never said much except for things like, "Turn here" or "Keep going." Gaara's car parked at the end of the block since the driveway would never reach exactly in front of my house. I merely told him to drop me off here and would walk the rest of the way.

"Thanks…" was all I muttered before I grabbed the backpack and started walking toward my house.

Gaara, as a driver's habit, waited until I turned the corner before heading off to drop Kiba and Shikamaru at their house. However, before he shifted his gear into reverse, he glanced down at the floor and realized something unfortunate.

"Shit. That girl took my backpack and left hers," he muttered under his breath.

"You better go return it, Gaara." Kiba glanced at the block I headed off on. "I think you can still catch her."

"Mendokuse…" was all Shikamaru muttered before he let out a tiring yawn.

Gaara quickly unbuckled his seat belt and grasped onto my backpack before running after me. Clueless to the events that occurred, I tiredly walked toward my house. The sugar rush I had with Melyni at the mall took a huge toll out of me, so I stretched before letting out a long sigh. My stretch was shortly interrupted as I heard the clacking of rapid shoes heading toward me from the back. I glanced over and saw none other than the red haired boy, sprinting in my direction.

"Eh? What's he-" I paused mid-sentence.

The hardened face of Gaara caused me to back off slightly in fear.

"W-What's he doing?" I stammered.

Gaara continued to come at a dead sprint and by instinct… I ran for my life.

"HOLY SHIT!" I cried and ran as fast as I could.

Without realizing, I ran past my own house and continued running at any direction that was convenient for me. I glanced back behind me only to find Gaara had gotten closer than he was before.

"HE'S FREAKING FAST!" I shouted in horror and tried to sprint away even harder.

"What the hell is this girl doing?" Gaara hissed under his breath.

I turned my attention toward the corner of the block and gasped.

_My house is around the corner again! This is my only chance!_

I immediately turned the corner and ran down two houses. My target? The window I left open. I quickly turned around to make sure Gaara had yet to turn the corner, and to my luck, he didn't. I jumped with all my might through the window and landed on the ground of the living room. I slammed my back against the wall and awaited Gaara's footsteps to leave. Unfortunately, I heard his footsteps come right to a stop in front of my window. I froze and held the backpack close to my chest, hoping he wouldn't look in and see me.

"Where the hell did she go?" I heard Gaara curse.

Thankfully, his footsteps slowly began to get softer. I waited a few seconds before I peeked over my window, making sure Gaara was no longer there. I let out breath that I had not realized I was holding and pushed myself away from the window.

"Safe… It's a good thing I forgot to close my window on this one day," I sighed. "But why was he chasing after me in the first place?"

I threw the backpack on the couch and trekked my way upstairs in need of a nice, long shower.

Gaara, with irritation, sat harshly back in his car and buckled up before dropping off both Kiba and Shikamaru.

"…You actually didn't catch her?" Kiba blinked back astonishment.

Gaara said nothing, but quietly leered at the rear view mirror toward Kiba. Kiba slightly jolted in his seat and decided it was wise to shut up for a while. Shikamaru, on the other hand, slept the whole time until he returned home. As Gaara drove home by himself, he glanced down at the forgotten backpack and blinked back annoyance.

"I'll just give it to her tomorrow," he muttered to himself.

Gaara pulled into his driveway and walked into his house, leaving the backpack in his car. As he opened the door, he heard clanking noises in the kitchen.

"Oh? Gaara? You're home so late," a feminine voice spoke from the kitchen.

"The girls dragged us guys to go shopping," Gaara walked toward the voice, throwing his keys onto the counter table.

"You went shopping without me?!" Temari jumped in, holding a spatula.

"Didn't you hear him, Temari? He was forced," a masculine voice replied in Gaara's place.

"Oh, whatever, Kankuro," she huffed at him. "Was if the usual, Gaara?'

"No," Gaara stated bluntly as he grabbed a piece of bread.

"What did you guys do?"

"Melyni and a new girl blew up one side of the mall."

"Melyni again? That girl scares the crap out of me," Kankuro thought out loud.

"A new girl, you say? What's she like?" Temari was somewhat interested.

"Clumsy."

"…Is that all you can say…?"

"I'm heading out, Temari," Gaara started out the door with his slightly eaten piece of bread.

"O-oi, Gaara!? What about dinner?!" Temari called out after him. "That guy… He can't stop that habit."

"The dinner is probably why he's leaving…" Kankuro whispered grumpily.

"Why are you here, Kankuro? You're supposed to be in college right now!" Temari growled once she heard his little comment.

"Urk! I-I'm taking a small break!" he defended himself.

Temari said nothing else and threw a sizzling pan at him, making Kankuro duck and run up to his room.

* * *

I jumped down the stairs heading toward the fridge, looking for something to eat. But something on my couch caught my attention for a short while. I paused and walked over to my couch. My eyes widened as I grabbed the object in fear.

"THIS ISN'T MY BACKBACK! SHIT!"

I was reluctant to go to school the next morning as my alarm clock rang through my ears. Once I finished my daily routine, I grabbed onto the backpack which had not belonged to me and sighed wearily.

"So that's why he was chasing me yesterday… I'm in for a world of hell… Wait a minute? Why am I sulking over something stupid!? I'm not scared of that guy! He's a jerk!" I grabbed his backpack and stomped out of the house.

I walked to my school, unafraid of what Gaara would think. But soon, I walked slower and began to stop.

"But… it was my fault for taking it without realizing… Oh fine! I'll just apologize to him."

I headed toward the almighty school and heard its tardy bell echo through the neighborhood and reached my ears.

"Oh? I'm late again, huh? Well, no worries. Kakashi-sensei probably would come late again," I shrugged and walked at my own pace to school.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ you come early every _Friday_?!" I exclaimed.

"Every Friday, I come early so all of you may start on your worksheets and not have any homework for the weekend. Normally I would come late every day, but everyone in class argued that there should be no homework on the weekends," Kakashi stated while reading his book. "I'm afraid you'll have to have detention after school, Mizu-kun."

_Mizu-_kun_?! Is he mocking me!?_

I heard some people snicker at me and I sent them a glare which caused them to shut up instantly. To my annoyance, only a few continued to laugh ever so softly. As I trekked toward my desk with my face in sulking mode, I ended up bumping into someone.

"Oh! Sor-" I looked up only to be face to face with the one person that had made me nervous to see.

Gaara himself.

The class stayed silent as we had our awkward staring contest. I glanced away and took the strap off my shoulder, giving Gaara his backpack.

"Here…" I muttered. "Sorry… I didn't look in your backpack or anything, so…"

I felt him take it from my hand. Suddenly, I saw something black thrown at my arms. Out of reflexes, I grabbed onto it and looked down. It was my backpack. Glancing up at Gaara, he had already begun to walk back toward his desk.

"Clumsy girl…" I heard him mutter as he sat down.

I huffed a bit and threw my backpack over my right shoulder before also heading back to my seat, which unfortunately, was next to his.

"I said I was sorry…" I mumbled.

Later on that day during class, I felt nothing but threatening glares leered my way. I never bothered acknowledging them and continued my lazy time in class, trying to avoid being an annoyance to Gaara. Luckily, I heard from Sakura we never usually do lab assignments, so Gaara being my lab partner had no meaning.

* * *

"Mizu…? Mizu!?"

"Huh?" I sat up from my desk tiredly.

I blinked back my weary eyes and glanced up to find Iruka crouching over me in anger.

"Is there a reason you're sleeping in my class?" he asked, eyebrows twitching.

"Umm… I already know this?" I tried to think of an excuse.

It wasn't exactly a lie. I knew what he was talking about, but his voice had suddenly begun to drone out. Next thing I knew, I was laying on my desk.

"Then would you care to answer the question, Mizu?"

"…What question was that, Iruka-sensei?" I had a small sweat drop forming behind my head.

He raised his fist and shook in anger with his eyes closed.

"Detention after school, Mizu!" he scolded.

"Iruka-sensei!" a girl's voice interrupted. "Kurai-san already has detention after school!"

_WHAT?! WHY THAT LITTLE! WHY COULDN'T SHE KEEP QUIET!? _I inwardly cursed at her.

"Is that so? Well then, Mizu, it looks like you'll be serving Lunch Detention instead."

"Eh?!"

"'Eh?!' Ja nai! Next time try not to fall asleep in class!" he walked back to the front of the classroom and resumed his teaching.

I leered over at the tattle tale who merely smiled at me innocently. I didn't recognize her, but I think she was in my first period… I lightly scoffed and sat back on my chair angrily.

"Don't worry. Me, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji always get in trouble with Iruka-sensei. You're not alone," Naruto whispered from behind him.

"I feel loved…" I muttered sarcastically.

* * *

"UWAH!" I screamed, falling onto the grass.

"Mizu! Are you okay?" Kairen ran over to me.

"Yeah, but… my legs aren't listening to me," I pounded on it lightly.

"It might have fallen asleep," she nodded.

"You've been sleeping a lot today," Ino shortly stopped by.

"I guess… Next thing you know, my brain completely shuts down."

"I WON'T ALLOW IT! DON'T WORRY, MIZU! I'LL FIND YOUR TRUE LOVE BEFORE IT DOES!" Kyohaku cheered running past us.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I slowly tried getting up.

"What's going on here?"

"Gai-sensei!" Ino cried out.

"Mizu's leg just fell asleep," Kairen explained.

"I see, I see… THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" he suddenly changed attitude. "IT'S NOT YOUTHFUL FOR YOU TO BE SITTING AROUND!"

"But-"

"IF YOUR LEG FALLS ASLEEP, YOU RUN LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW TO WAKE IT UP!"

"But I-"

"IF YOUR ARM FALLS ASLEEP, YOU RUN ON IT UNTIL YOU FEEL PAIN ON YOUR ARMS!"

"That's not even…"

"Now, Mizu! Let us run twenty more laps until the sun begins to set over the horizon!" Gai's smile pinged while he gave me his infamous thumbs up.

People ran by quietly while Ino and Kairen stood there staring at him in silence. Gai held his pose, smiling at nothing as a crow flew by.

"Ahou! Ahou!" it cried.

"Gai-sensei… Mizu had already run off," Ino scratched her cheek.

Gai-sensei had a huge sweat drop formed on the back of his head and turned his attention over to me, who had long ran to the very far side of the track, away from him.

"THAT'S THE YOUTHFUL SPIRIT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"How embarrassing…" my face turned slight red as I forced my leg to run along side with my other one.

* * *

The last bell of the day rang, but as for me… my day had yet to end.

"Is this punishment for taking the wrong backpack…?" I dragged myself to Kakashi's classroom. "I'm here, Kakashi-senesi…"

"Ah, Mizu-kun."

_MIZU-KUN AGAIN!?_

"I have to head off early today, so you'll be serving your detention in the art room. All you have to do is tidy the place up a bit," he informed me through his mask.

"Oh, okay," I blinked.

"I'll be taking my leave now," he left the classroom.

I turned the opposite direction and went to try and find the art room. I stopped for a bit as realization struck me.

"Matte, Kakashi-sensei! I don't know where-!" I turned around.

To my great luck, Kakashi was no where in sight.

I spent a few minutes wandering around the school trying to take a peek in the classrooms, wondering if they were the art room.

"Maybe I'll ask the Principal."

Just as I was about to open the office door, someone turned the door knob and began walking out. His growling face turned into an evil smirk as he looked down at me.

"Well, well. If it isn't the smart mouth bitch," he said.

I stared at him blankly for a few seconds and soon, remembered who he was. Zaku was the boy's name. He was blue-haired boy that hung around with that girl. He walked forward, making me step back, as he closed the door behind him.

"Its payback time, girl."

"I really don't have time for this… Can't you go take your pitiful anger and humiliation somewhere else and not bother me with it?" I sighed.

He growled and brought a fist toward my face. I immediately ducked and kicked upwards into his stomach. He grunted and I took this chance to run.

"You're not getting away that easily, bitch!" Zaku chased after me.

"The hell I will!" I shouted back at him.

As I ran, a few group of girls suddenly stood in my way. As I ran toward them, they began to talk.

"Hey, you! Don't go near Gaara-kun, or else we'll-"

I shoved past them, their words going in one ear and out the other.

"Where do you think you're going?!" another shouted at me.

"MOVE, YOU SLUTS!" Zaku shoved past them harder than I did, causing them to fall down.

"Harsh, aren't we?" I muttered as I heard his name calling.

As I turned the corner, I saw an opened door and ran in, shutting the door, and locking it.

"Phew..." I slid down. "Turning corners sure saves my life a lot…"

"What are you doing here?"

The sudden voice caused me to jump up in surprise and get into a fighting stance.

"Hey, don't get Bruce Lee on me or anything. I wasn't going to hurt you." the voice reassured.

I looked at him. He had sandy, red hair and hazel, brown eyes. The boy wore a black shirt with paint smeared all over along with his pants.

"You're the new girl I've been hearing about, aren't you," he stared more than questioned.

"Who are you?" I slightly lowered my stance, seeing that he had no intention of hurting me.

"Sasori. What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"Oh… Well I was running from this guy and-" I paused to take in my surrounding. Paint brushes, canvases, drawings, they were all in this room. "I ACTUALLY ARRIVED IN THE CORRECT ROOM?! SWEET!"

"So you're the girl who had detention here. Well your job is done; I already cleaned up the place for you," Sasori rolled his eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I was kind of caught up," I rubbed my neck sheepishly.

"You're welcome."

"Huh? Oh! Thanks…" I scratched my cheek.

"Sasori-danna! Are you done yet?" a knock was heard.

I turned around and opened the door. Staring up, I blinked at a blonde haired boy who stared down at me in shock.

"YOU?!"

"…Do I know you?" I blinked.

"We met in the hallway, mm!"

"…Ah! The she-man!" I snapped my fingers, remembering who the person was.

Sasori snickered in the background.

"It's not she-man! It's Deidara! Mm!" he growled. "Sasori-danna, what is she doing here?!"

"…I'm sorry. I'm not trying to replace you by merely talking to him. He's still all yours," I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not gay," Sasori glared at me.

"If you hang around the she-man here, you'll turn."

"I receive insults for cleaning this room for you?" he began to take off the black shirt and had another black one underneath.

"Well, I never asked you to."

It was wrong. I probably should've thanked him instead of complaining over the fact he tidied the room for me. But what has been said is what has been said.

"Sasori-danna would have done it, anyway," Deidara entered in, walking toward the Sasori. "He loves art like me, mm!"

"You have a different perspective of art, Deidara," Sasori leered.

A small argument broke out between them and I used this chance to sneak out of the room.

_Since I don't need to clean anything, I'll just be heading home now! _I thought cheerfully.

Unfortunately, the moment I stepped out, I recognized a certain blue haired boy in my side vision.

"Hah! Found you!" he smirked.

"Damn it! Not again!" I ran away from Zaku before he could do anything.

But as I ran, there was only silence; no foot steps running after me, no cries of insults, nothing. I look behind me to see Zaku on the ground, and Sasori standing over him.

"...No way..."

"You owe me twice now," Sasori glanced at me. "I probably made your day a lot better."

"What do you want me to do…?" I raised my eyebrow.

Sasori walked up to me and cupped my chin. "I'll think about it."

He turned and left along with Deidara, who smirked at me and followed behind him.

_I've got a bad feeling about this... _I worriedly thought.

I turned and walked out of the exit. My destination: home sweet home.

"Mizu! Mizu!" Kairen ran toward me.

"Kairen? What is it?"

"Someone just challenged you to a game of basketball! I think they're fan girls," Kairen shook her head.

"What about it?"

She started pushing me toward the basketball court.

"You go beat their ass!" she grinned.

"Nani!? But I- I just- I want to- UGH!" I gave a frustrated cry and slid on the ground, laying there.

"Mizu? Mizu! Get up! Mizu!?" Kairen attempted to pick me up.


	7. Basketball? You're on!

Disclaimer: don't own naruto own my own characters

Basketball? You're on!

"Chotto matte, Kairen! Why do they want to challenge me at basketball? What for?! Why now? Who challenged me? How do they even know I played basketball?!" I rapidly asked all these questions as Kairen dragged me to the court. To my amazement, she actually answered them all.

"Something about, he's my man, and they want you to keep away from him. Now because they want you to keep away from him this instant. I guess they have connections with the office to look up your profile."

"Oh.." I mumbled tiredly. _Their man? Who would that- . . . HOLY SHIT! DO THEY MEAN GAARA!? I JUST TALKED TO HIM ONCE! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE- ...I don't want an answer for that..._

"You're not going to back down from this are you? I mean the _whole _school already knows about it!" Kairen gasped.

"I've only been here for two days! What do these people want from me!? I'd rather sit in a silent corner!"

"...They think you suck at basketball.." Kairen blinked. _A white lie won't hurt, right?_

"...THEY WHAT?! I'M BEING UNDERESTIMATED!? BRING IT!" and instead of Kairen dragging me there, I grabbed her arm and rushed off like she was a light feather.

At the basketball court

There was a large crowd gathered around a certain court. Anxious murmurs were talked amongst them, and some even showed their excitement by shouting and cheering. I hesitantly walked through the crowd as some eyes were directly on me. _Now that I think about it, I haven't played basketball in a while..._

A girl stood there proudly smirking at my appearance. She had short black hair with a dye of red on her bangs. Her hazel eyes seemed to burn with confidence. Maybe too much. Her outfit...how should I describe it...flamey.

"I see you decided to arrive. I thought you would back out," the girl stood crossed armed.

"Who are you and what exactly do you want from me..." I lazily stared at her.

In the crowd, Naruto struggled to get in front along with some others I had made friends with.

"Look! There's Mizu! GO, MIZU!" Naruto rapidly waved at me hoping I would wave back.

Unfortunately, he was ignored for the moment. My eyes were all on this weird girl.

"People know me has Hisaki. And ma and my friends want you to stay away from Gaara!" she angrily pointed at me.

"..Yeah..that's what I thought..."

"If I beat you in a game of basketball, you will have to rearrange all your classes and keep away from him! A new girl like you doesn't deserve to be around somebody like him!"

I completely zoned out and was hearing my own thought. _I wonder if Kairen went through the same thing with Sasuke...I mean..people are still glaring at her.. Neji seems like a heartthrob, too. Wonder who's lucky enough to date him..._

"HEY! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?" Hisaki shouted angrily, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I gave her the coldest glare that I could sum up. Her confident eyes slightly turned to fear, but soon regained its determination.

"Listen here, Hisaki," I hissed her name. "Along with the rest of you fangirls! For one thing, I barely know Gaara and I only talked to him once! He is _not _some item that belongs to you and you alone!"

At my words, some people turned over to Gaara. He stood there emotionlessly, but from his intent stare, you knew he was listening.

"Gaara can very well choose whom he wants to be with, and whom he doesn't. Apparently, he doesn't want to be around girls like you! Clinging onto him like monkeys on trees. I could care less whether or not you say I don't deserve him, or whatever. But you don't deserve him either!

"You see him as a hot, sexy guy. But do you really know him? Do you really understand what he's like? I sure don't, but I didn't force myself on him! If he doesn't want you to know who he really is, THEN LEAVE. HIM. ALONE! Same goes with any other heartthrobs in this school! Get over it! They probably already have dates!" I slightly glanced over at Kairen and Sasuke.

"Hmph! You talk big, but can you play!?" Hisaki took out a ball, not caring what I say.. "This shall be a one-on-one fifteen minute game! If I win, you do whatever I tell you! And-"

"And if I win, I have the right to beat you to a bloody pulp if you ever come near any of my friends that are known as heartthrobs and try to seduce them. It wouldn't affect them, but hell, it's annoying," I interrupted.

People whispered things like, "She stood up for someone like Gaara?"

"She defended those arrogant jerks?"

"How can she beat the well-known player in our school?"

I decided to ignore them. People can think whatever they want. I was ready to smack this girl silly. She was slightly hesitant at my bet, but nonetheless, she accepted. The game began.

The ball went to Hisaki first. She passed the ball to me, and I passed it back. She dribbled the ball and tried to cross me over. When she tried to throw the ball in the hoop, I ran forward and blocked the ball which allowed me to take it and shoot it in the basket. My first point.

The crowd gasped and murmured again. In the crowd, a cheer could be heard.

"YEAH! GO, MIZU!" Naruto shouted again.

"SHANNARO! BEAT HER, MIZU!" Sakura cried as well.

"Winner's ball," I muttered.

The moment I had the ball, Hisaki was already blocking me. And mind you, she is the best player on the team for a reason. I struggled getting past her, but she managed to swipe the ball from my hands. She shoots. She scores. (Heheh.. I just felt like saying that sry if thats annoying.) The crowd went wild for her. Except my new found friends.

"You're pretty good," I stated in a monotone voice.

"Hmph! I'm just getting warmed up!" she smirked.

"Don't get too overconfident," I rolled my eyes. _Actually..I'm not even trying yet.. So, I won't say anything. Her overconfidence will be the end of her._

Hisakiran down the court, and I chased after her, ready to pounce to get the ball. She was about to make a shot when I looked up and saw Melyni sitting on the rim of the hoop.

"Hey, guys!"

"Melyni, get down from there! Wait... How the hell did you get up there in the first place?"

"I climbed up- duh!!!!"

"..Aren't you supposed to be in school??" Kiba asked.

"No, I don't have a class at this hour..."

"Oh... fair enough."

"M-M-Melyni...!" Hisaki slightly backed up.

"Oh, hey, it's the loser!" Melyni smiled.

"Loser?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Oh yeah. I picked on that little brat since her first day of school. Thinking that she's better than everyone. No stinking freshman should go around school, flaunting about when she has no skills at all. All I see are fancy tricks. And besides, she bumped into me last year when I was here and made me spill my lunch. NOBODY DOES THAT!!!!" Melyni glared daggers into Hisaki.

"YEAH!! YOU TELL THEM, MEL!" Chouji yelled.

"Melyni and her stupid food ramblings." Shikamaru muttered.

"DON'T HATE THE FOOD; YOU'D DIE WITHOUT IT!" Melyni screamed, shaking her fist.

"C-can we just play the basketball game now...?" I asked.

"Alright, fine. Play your stupid bouncy ball game." Melyni said a bit annoyed. She jumped off from the rim and made her way toward Hisaki. "GOOD LUCK!" She cried, slapping Hisaki on the back. Hisaki winced, and stared at Melyni with a stupid look upon her face. Melyni then made her way into the crowd and disappeared.

"What was that all about.." I asked with a sweat drop.

"Don't mind her people! She tends to pop up unexpectedly, so continue!" Shikamaru yelled. Suddenly a shoe was thrown at his head. "Melyni..." he muttered with annoyance.

Before I had a chance to say anything, Hisaki already ran down the court with the ball. _That cheater! _I thought.

The crowd didn't seem to care and cheered as she made her second point.

"HEY! THAT WAS TOTALLY CHEATING! YOU BIG, FAT CHEATER! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'LL-" Sasuke put his hands over Kairen's mouth and pulled her away to try and calm her down.

"Too slow!" Hisaki smirked.

I gave a low growl and passed the ball to her. The moment she stepped into the court, I instantly smacked the ball away and took it, ran toward the basket, and threw the ball in.

"Too slow," I mimicked her.

Everyone had their mouth opened. Except Naruto who was still being loud as ever. Hisaki shook it off and passed me the ball. Again, she instantly tried to block me. I twirled to the right, but paused and twirled to the left. Thinking that I was about to run to the right, she had no time to stop me. I shot it in once again.

"YEAH! COME ON, MIZU!" Tenten cheered.

"I guess you are a good basketball player," Hisaki glared.

"Never underestimate your opponents," I glared back.

I guess for her, this game is merely trying to win Gaara. But for me, I just want them to leave me and my friends alone. There were five minutes left, and I was in the lead. As I ran down the court, Hisaki tried to grab the ball. But her real intention was trying to trip me. Unfortunately, I did...

With a thud, Hisaki grabbed the ball and threw it in the hoop. The crowd gasped. Some cheered for Hisaki, some doubted that it was an accident. As I moved to get up, my right leg felt heavy. _Kuso! I twisted my ankle! _I inwardly winced.

"Don't be tripping, girl!" a boy in the crowd laughed along with his friends.

I had no time to react at his comment because he was already sent to the floor. By whom you ask? Well, there were Sakura, Neji, Ino, Shino, and Kairen.

I struggled to stand, forcing myself not to look like I twisted anything. Thank goodness for the scraped knee or people would've thought it was my ankle.

Time was running out fast, we only had three minutes left, and it was tied. This time, we gave it our all. I stole the ball away from her, she stole it right back. Back and forth the ball went. Hisaki dribbled the ball between her legs, trying to look cool. Her mistake! The moment the ball dribbled back out, I snatched it, and ran. Hisaki did not hesitate and also ran after me.

Nearing the rim, I didn't even try to look where Hisaki was. I just ran, jumped, and let the ball go in. What I didn't see, was Hisaki jumping right in front of me, trying to lock the ball. Whether or not it was an accident, her knee hit my stomach, and I fell to the ground. I believe..she made my ankle worse as well.

Time was up.

The pain in my ankle and stomach were unbearable. I had no time to look to see people running toward me, or whether I had won. But I did hear an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey! You're the fastest runner here! Go take her to the nurse! Quickly!"

The person they were talking to picked me up and ran. And truly, they were a fast runner because I felt a lot of wind flying into my face. I tried to open my eyes, but everything was slightly blurry.

_No! Don't black out now! I've never fainted in my life! _I cried inside. But my will power was weak at the moment, so the moment I shouted those words in my head, everything went black.


	8. Happy Birthday, Naruto

Disclaimer: don't own naruto own my own characters. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the times I lagged in posting up stories.

A small groan escaped from my mouth. I slowly opened my eyes to find everything blurred.

_Where am I? _I wondered.

"Oh dear... oh dear... I hate blood," someone whimpered.

My vision became clearer and I looked around. There were many cabinets and tiny boxes on the table, but I couldn't quite tell what they were. There was a small window, but big enough to see through. The curtain was fully opened letting the sun shine down on my face. It blinded me for a moment, but I blinked it off.

"Where's the thermometer?" the same voice asked.

I heard her pacing back and forth and sat up. Big mistake... The moment I sat up, I felt as if someone stabbed me with a dagger into my stomach. I winced and held it, and tried to shrug it off. I turned to look at the woman. She was rather plump and had curly, light pink hair. Her outfit was a pink nurse uniform, and she wore pink heels. Not to mention pink lipstick. I loathe the sight. How I loathe the color pink.

_At least Sakura looks prettier than this woman... This is seriously way over the top. _I twitched.

The nurse finally noticed me and looked over with her mouth open. I stared right back giving her a confused look.

"Oh. Right!" she snapped her fingers. She walked off somewhere and came back with a thermometer. She put it under my twisted ankle and stared at it as if something amazing would happen.

"...Miss..? You don't use thermometers to check my ankle. You check to see if it's swollen," I explained.

"O-oh. B-but I wont want to see blood!" she whined.

"Swollen means bruised. It has nothing to do with blood." _I better not tell her about my scraped knee..._

"I knew that!" she nodded. She took away the thermometer and inspected my ankle. "It's not bruised."

There was silence after that.

"...Then...can I go now?" I asked.

"No! Not yet! We need to make sure you're better!" she insisted.

_We...? Don't you mean you, Lady? _"Okay..."

There was still silence, and she made no movement of going anywhere.

"I think you need to get an ice pack for my ankle now..." I said.

"Right!" and she went around trying to find one.

"Forget it," I sighed.

I forced myself off the bed and limped out the door.

"Hey!" the nurse called back for me. "You're not supposed to be moving yet!"

"I'll heal eventually. Besides, I don't really like the nurse's office..." I ignored her and continued out the door.

"I'm supposed to take care of you!"

"And you're doing a wonderful job. But I'll be fine."

"I'm new at this!" she whined.

"I'm not a nurse, but I know what to do," I mumbled and left.

Out of no where, I was tackled to the ground and was embraced by a tightening hug. How I loathe hugs such as these as well.

"OH MY GOSH! MIZU-CHAN! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Kyohaku cried.

"Since when did you start calling me that...?" I mumbled to myself.

"If you keep hugging her like that, she'll be dead soon," Kairen rolled her eyes.

"Oh! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Kyohaku continued to shout this with tearing faces coming out of her sleeves.

"Okay! I get it! Now please get off!" I shouted. She got up and I stood up to dust myself off. "Do you have icons for everything?"

"Of course I do!" Kyohaku shouted with happy icons coming out of her sleeves. "But I still haven't gotten the angry one!" she furrowed her eyebrows. But suddenly, flames came out of her sleeves. "Oh! There we go!" this time with rainbow icons.

By this time, I was already faaaaarrr away from her. Everyone either rolled their eyes or head sweat drops on their foreheads.

"Anyways, how's your ankle Mizu?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Oh. I'm better now," I lied. "How did I get here anyways? I just remember blacking out."

"You were carried here," Ino replied.

"Really? By whom? I'll thank them later."

"It was-"

"We didn't know that person," Gaara interrupted Ino.

"Oh," I blinked. "...What are you doing here anyways?" I asked curiously.

"I dragged him here!" Naruto pointed at himself happily.

"Naruto...?" Sakura mumbled to her self curiously.

"But you didn't drag-"

"Oh we all did! Didn't we Hinata!" Naruto interrupted Kairen and nudged Hinata.

She turned red and gave a shy nod. But of course, she didn't make full contact with Naruto's eyes.

"Okay?" I looked away suspiciously.

Kyohaku just giggled to herself and stared at me.

"What?!" I yelled.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Kyohaku waved it off.

_Ugh... I'm so tired... I just wanted to go home. But noooo I-_

"Home..? I CAN GO HOME!" I screamed with realization.

I turned on my heels and began to run. But forgetting about my ankle... I fell...

"O-ow.."

Naruto snickered which earned him a slap over the head by Sakura. The others just stared at me.

"I thought you said your ankle was fine?" Kairen wondered.

"O-oh! It is! I just... slipped. Yeah. My shoes don't have a good grip on this tile," I lied again.

"Really..." Kairen looked at me suspiciously.

"Yup! Now I'm going back to my home sweet home and sleep until midnight!" I ran off again.

"She forgot her backpack again. That clumsy girl," Gaara muttered.

At that moment, I walked back trying hard not to look embarrassed.

"Um... Where's my backpack?" I asked.

Gaara answered by pointing to the benches near the nurse's room.

"Thanks..." I mumbled.

I grabbed my backpack and was about to run off again. But suddenly-

"Matte! Mizu!" Kyohaku called.

This caused my to trip... again!

"What?!" I snapped, hearing Gaara mutter a clumsy girl again.

"Naruto's having a late birthday party today! It's at five."

"Oh yeah! My party! I totally forgot about it!" Naruto said, hitting his forehead. "Are you going to come Mizu-chan?"

_Mizu-chan...? Since when did you start calling me that? _I thought weirdly. "But I'm too tired..." I whined.

"Please! By coming, that could be your present to me!" Naruto begged.

_Those eyes... That begging!! Ugh! So much like Metaru's!! Sigh... I can't say no... _I inwardly sighed.

"Fine..." I finally gave in.

"YATTA!!" Naruto cried happily, jumping up and down.

Kyohaku joined him with many rainbows flying out of her sleeves. I shook my head and walked off, already telling them that I was headed home.

At My House

I threw my backpack on the floor and plopped on my bed, exhausted. I set my alarm to 4:30 and rolled back on my bed. Without thinking of a thing, I let sleep overcome me.

A few hours later, I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I lazily turned over and turned it off.

_I was suppose to go somewhere... But where? _I thought. Sitting there for a few minutes, I collected my thoughts and let my mind wake. _Oh yeah! Naruto's party... Oh crap. They never told me where it was going to be..._

"Oh well. Guess I'll wash up and look around. Maybe I'll get lucky for once, today."

I showered and changed into a different outfit all in fifteen minutes. I don't diddle daddle with my hair, or stand there wondering what I should wear. Nope! I just grab something and wear it. They always match anyway.

Suddenly, the door bell rang. I went down stairs in a hurry. The person seemed to love ringing the bell. I opened the door and-

"MIZU-CHAAAAN!" came a cry. The person tackled me to the floor giving me a huge hug.

I struggled so hard beneath their grasp. Suddenly, they were pulled off me.

"Kairen, the whole point into going to her house was to take her to the party. Not kill her," Sasuke said.

_What's with everyone calling me Mizu-chan... _was my only thought.

"But I wanna huuug!!" she struggled against him.

"She had boba again, didn't she?" I concluded.

Sasuke just nodded and took Kairen outside. "Come on."

Sasuke had a hard time trying to get Kairen in the car. Apparently, she still wanted to hug me, so he literally tried to drag her to the car. I had a sweat drop on my forehead and opened the car door. But I stood frozen. Sitting on the other side... Yeah, you guessed it. A red-hair emotionless eyed boy; Gaara.

"What are you waiting for, Mizu-chan?! Get in!!" Kairen yelled cheerfully.

She pushed me in the car, but she ended up making my head hit the roof of it. Somehow, I fell inside.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," I whispered painfully, clutching my head.

"Clumsy girl," Gaara said.

I twitched, sat up, and glared at him.

"I thought you had your own car!" I mocked.

"My idiot of a brother took it- no. He _stole _it to go partying," he muttered angrily.

"Sucker," I snickered.

That landed me with his foot stepping on mine.

"ITAI!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU SON OF A-"

"Mizu-chan!" Kairen gasped, covering my mouth. "A child like you shouldn't use such foul language!"

"I'm not a child! I'm the same age as you!"

"Do not argue with your teacher, Young Grasshopper," Kairen tried to sound wise.

"Kairen... get in the passenger seat..." Sasuke sighed.

"Aye, aye, Sassycakes!" she saluted.

"...S-Sassucakes?" I snickered.

Gaara didn't look it, but he was amused, too.

Once we all buckled up, Sasuke drove off to the mall. Everyone was silent, except for Kairen, who was bouncing up and down in her seat. A few minutes later, Kairen turned over to Sasuke and gave him a huge grin.

"Nani?" Sasuke asked, still focusing on the road.

Out of nowhere, Kairen sprung upon him and tried to yank his shirt off.

"Kairen?! What are you doing?! I'm driving here!" Sasuke tried to control the wheel.

The car swerve back and forth causing me to roughly swerve back and forth, too. Gaara was also having a hard time. Unfortunately, my seat belt came loose. I flew around the car like crazy, screaming my head off. But it was still muffled over the booming voice of Sasuke telling Kairen to let go. Cars honked and screeched, trying not to get hit by us.

I was suddenly grabbed and pushed to the floor. I was held there so I wouldn't flop around anymore. Sasuke finally parked somewhere with a loud screech. We were all panting heavily, and Kairen looked slightly sick.

"I would thank you for saving me, but... GET YOUR FOOT OFF OF ME!" I yelled at Gaara.

He just smirked and kept his foot there.

"...Are you deaf!?"

"A deaf person can hear your loud voice," he answered.

_...I'll get my revenge on you yet, Gaara! _I twitched.

He finally got his foot off of me and I sat up.

"What did you do that for?" Sasuke asked tiredly.

"...You look good with your shirt off," Kairen answered with shifty eyes.

Sasuke's jaw dropped to the ground. He stared at her red, blushing face, stunned.

"I... uhh... need some fresh air," Sasuke stepped outside the car.

I stared off at him and turned to Kairen.

"He's not good with girls, is he," I said.

"That's not true!" he yelled from outside.

"Aww! Does Sassycakes need a kiss from Kairen?" I teased.

"Hn," Sasuke muttered.

"Hey! That's not a bad idea!" Kairen clapped.

She sprung out of the car, tackled sasuke, and kissed him. He was stunned at first, but eventually kissed her back.

"...I'm not sticking around to see lover birds make out," I hopped out of the car.

Surprisingly, Sasuke had parked near the mall, so I walked inside with Gaara behind me.

"MIZU-CHAN! YOU CAME! YOU CAME!" Naruto tackled me to the ground.

_AHHH! WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE HUGGING ME TODAY?! _I cried in my head.

"I don't like hugs, remember," I told Naruto in the calmest voice that I can possible make.

Naruto instantly got up and rubbed his head from embarrassment. "Gomen!"

Naruto looked behind me and noticed Gaara with his arms crossed.

"Gaara! Glad you could make it, bud!" he shouted happily.

Gaara just nodded and took out a small box in his pocket. He handed over to Naruto and walked off around the mall.

"Thanks, man!"

_...How they are best friends, I'll never know. But who Gaara could be so nice about it. _I blinked, staring at the both of them.

"_**Uzumaki Naruto made me realize these things." **_

My eyes suddenly widened with remembrance. "That's right... Gaara was the one that got me out of my emo, anger state. And it was all because Naruto had told him the same thing..." I mumbled to myself.

"Hellloooo??? Mizu-chaaannn??? Anybody in there!?" Naruto shouted in my ear.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah."

"I thought your brain turned off for a moment. Come on! My party is held at an ice skating rink around here!"

"There's an ice skating rink in the mall!?" I screamed.

"Yeah! They just opened it yesterday! I got lucky to get reservations for my party!" Naruto eyes sparked with joy. "Sasuke-teme took you here, right? You go on ahead. I'll go get him and make sure he didn't _do _anything with Kairen. Hahaha!"

My face held a horrified look at the thought, but then I watched Naruto run off laughing. My eyes softened and smiled. I sighed and tried to find my way to the ice rink. I passed by a shop with boredom, but instantly jumped back and looked through the window.

_3000 SUPERSOAKER_

_GET YOUR FRIENDS SOAKING TO THE BONE!_

The advertisement gave me a sneaky idea. My lips curled up into an evil smirk and I strode into the store. I purchased the water gun and walked out of the store chuckling. But suddenly, I crashed into someone.

"Mizu?"

I looked up and saw the face of-

"Melyni? Naruto invited you, too?" I asked.

"Weeellll. He invited Shika, but he was too lazy to go. So I dragged him here!" she cried happily.

Shikamaru came out from behind her and looked worn out and dirty.

"She literally dragged me all the way here... Mendokuse..." he sighed.

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle of amusement. It's strange. Whenever I do mischief, Melyni seems to appear. But then again, she appears anywhere she wants just to torment a helpless, whining person. She's still fun to be around, though.

"Whatcha doing with that water gun?" Melyni grabbed the water gun and examined it. "A present for Narutard?"

"You can say that," I smirked.

Melyni smirked back and ran into the store.

"This can't be good..." Shikamaru mumbled.

Crash after crash was heard inside the store... a there was even a chicken clucking in fear and shock... anyway! Melyni ran out of the shop holding the same water gun as mine. She grabbed Shikamaru and dragged him off, telling me to run. With no hesitation, I followed.

From behind, I heard a shout of anger. "Come back here with that SuperSoaker, girl! I'll call security on you for stealing!"

"But I'm not stealing!" Melyni yelled back. "I'm just borrowing it and not ever give it back again!"

Shikamaru and I both had sweat drops on our foreheads, but didn't say anything.

"Is this a usual thing...?" I asked Shikamaru.

"Unfortunately... it is..."

After running all the way to the ice rink, Melyni dumped Shikamaru at the ice rink counter, and ran off to the closest bathroom. I of course, still followed her. We filled up the guns and hid them somewhere safe. We walked out of the bathroom as if nothing happened.

Melyni suddenly disappeared somewhere again, while I was left to get my ice skating shoes..or whatever. I admit, I'm not the best ice skater in the world, but I still enjoy trying. I went out there and used the wall to help me balance. After some time, I began to skate by myself, but stuck near the wall just in case.

As I began to skate independently, I was yanked by someone. I almost lost my balance, but was still able to stay up. I looked over to the side to see Sakura. And next to her was Ino. The three of us were both skating around the rink while holding on to each other.

"I never knew you ice skated, Mizu!" Ino exclaimed.

"I don't. But I can still slightly skate after a few practices," I answered.

"Really?? Ino and I took ice skating for four years now!" Sakura stated happily. "They might even give free lessons here since it's new. Maybe you should try!"

"No, I'm good. Thanks anyway!" I said.

I had told Sakura to let me go, and I walked to those high benches outside of the rink. I sat there looking at everyone enjoying the party. I spotted Sasuke and Kairen trying to skate. Or.. Well, Kairen tried really hard to balance herself only to fall on her butt. Sasuke who tried to help her, fell along with her on his stomach.

"Ouch..." I said.

But Kairen ended up laughing and tried again, while Sasuke just smirked.

Lee was... racing around the rink with Kiba. It seemed to me like they were trying to see how many laps they can do without falling. Hinata shyly stood by Naruto's side. She balanced just fine, but Naruto had trouble getting up even with the wall's help. You can see her giggling and catiously helping Naruto up.

On another side, I spotted Melyni and a person I don't know. But they seemed really close seeing as they held each others arms and skated around the rink. Kyohaku was up to her matchmaking again. Her targets were Neji and Tenten. She was in between them, holding both of their hands while skating around the rink. But she "accidently" let go and caused Neji and Tenten to crash into each other.

I stopped caring after that and looked around at other places. Inside a warm shop, I saw Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru enjoying a nice hot coco. But I could see that they were stashing a cake, obviously for Naruto, inside a freezer. Then I saw Gaara. He just sat there like me. Though he had ice skates on, he didn't once go out there and skate. That made me wonder...

"Hey, Gaara! Why aren't you out there skating?" I walked over.

He glanced at me and didn't answer.

I smirked as my questions were answered.

"You can't skate, can you?"

Gaara had a slight annoyance in his eyes, but never denied anything.

"I can help you. I may not be great, but I know how to keep balance," I offered him, smiling.

His eyes held surprise and shock in them, but was quickly gone. He shook his head, declining.

"Oh come on. It's not that bad!" for some reason, I had more strength in me than before. In other words, I was some how able to drag Gaara up from his seat and take him out into the rink.

"I said I don't want to," he slightly glared.

"Don't worry! I wont let you fall and embarrass yourself!" I rolled my eyes. "Come on. Just try!"

I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so I held his wrist instead of his hand. I instructed him to balance by using the wall and try to move as if he were roller skating. He didn't get it at first. But he watched others and tried to learn from them. After a while, he finally got the hang of it.

"Okay. Now let go of the wall. But stay close just in case. Don't worry, I won't let go."

He did as he was told and began skating away from the wall. His expression was emotionless, but his eyes held slight astonishment in them. But suddenly, two stupid boys a.k.a. Kiba and Lee, hurriedly skated past us. This caused Gaara to feel as if wind was pushing him forward, which made the tip of his skate hit the ice.

Gaara's P.O.V

I had only begun to understand the concept of ice skating, until a rapid wind flew past me. What shocked me the most was that I actually panicked and lost my balance. As I began to fall forward, I was gripped back tightly, thus, letting me fall against the wall and was able to hold myself against it.

I had wondered what had happened, and looked hurriedly at my side. I saw that clumsy girl actually still standing there like everything was fine. She held a small concerned look on her face, but slowly formed into a smile. Her next words... awkwardly made me feel... something.

"I told you that I wouldn't let you fall," she said.

Mizu's P.O.V

I had caught him just in time. It was a close one, too! It looked like he was about to say something, but I was yanked away by yet, another person. At the time I grabbed for Gaara, I was forced to hold his hand. Since this person dragged me somewhere... I was still holding his hand. It was nerve-racking for some reason, but I tried to shrug it off.

"Come on, lover birds! Naruto's about to get his cake!" Kyohaku giggled.

"LOVER BIRDS?!" I cried.

But I was interrupted when we made it out at the tables. I had forgotten about the comment Kyohaku said, and sang, 'Happy Birthday' with everyone. Naruto blew out the candles and everyone applauded. I suddenly remembered! I looked over at Melyni, who nodded at me. She said something to that guy next to her and ran to the bathroom.

_I guess I'll ask her about him later. _With that, I followed after.

We grabbed the water guns and hid them behind our backs. Coming back to the tables, we saw Naruto excitedly opening presents.

"Naaarruuutaarddd," Melyni called for him in a sing-songy voice.

"What is it?" he looked up.

"We have a present for you," I innocently smiled.

"REALLY!?"

"Yup," Melyni and I said at the same time.

"Uh oh.." Shikamaru and Chouji mumbled.

Then, we both showed our water guns, and squirted every single last drop at Naruto, soaking him all over.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!" Melyni and I cried.

Everyone laughed and giggled at the soaking Naruto. He himself, was laughing along also.

This was dedicated to Naruto on his birthday, and to everyone who waited patiently for me to update. I'll try to update again soon. Ja ne.


	9. A Strange Saturday

Disclaimer: don't own characters just my own

I was awoken by my alarm clock again. I was grumbling, but I turned over to turn it off nonetheless.

_7:30 a.m._

"...Isn't this... A SATURDAY?! I WOKE UP THIS EARLY ON A SATURDAY!? STUPID ALARM!" With that, I threw the alarm clock to the wall. The clock probably didn't deserve that, but I'm an angry person when I wake up for no reason.

I yanked the blanket over my head and tried my best to go back to sleep. That was futile. I constantly rolled around, but finally sat up since I couldn't go back to sleep.

"Damn..."

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and such. After that, I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to make breakfast. As I was making pancakes, I heard a noise in the living room. I instantly glanced over, but saw nothing.

"...Must be my imagination," I shrugged it off.

As I got out a big plate to set the pancakes in, I heard another shuffle. Now I was suspicious, not to mention cautiously.

_Robbers...?_

I took one of my kitchen knives and hid it in my sleeve. (I'm violent like that) Slowly, I entered the living room, looking around. It was silent, but I heard the ruffle again near my couch. I was behind it, so I wouldn't have been able to see if anyone was there. I approached closer and closer. I let the kitchen knife slip out of the sleeve and into my hand. With a tight grip, I glanced over my chair slightly.

_There _is _someone there._

Slowly and steadily, I held my knife high and exposed the intruder.

"AHHH!!" the man yelled and fell off the couch.

_...This is the intruder...? I think I'm more of a threat than he is._

I closely examined him as he slowly sat up. Blonde hair covering one of his eyes. That feminine look. That hair tied up.

"YOU?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HER, SHE-MAN!?"

"THE NAME'S DEIDARA!"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! WHAT ARE YOU- SASORI?!" I exclaimed as I saw Sasori sit up from my other couch.

I placed a few pancakes on Sasori and Deidara's place. After that, I sat on my chair angrily and glared at them.

"Explain to me why the hell you two broke into my house?" I asked as calmly as possible.

"You owed me two favors. This can count as the first one," Sasori shrugged, eating my pancakes.

"Why is that?" I questioned with an anime vein.

"Because we got kicked out of our house, yeah," Deidara happily ate the pancakes.

"And that gave you enough reason to break in?! People could get the wrong idea and get into trouble!"

"I think we were more in trouble than you! I didn't come at you with a knife!" Deidara complained.

"It's called self-defense!" I argued back.

Sasori just sat there eating quietly, ignoring my argument with Deidara.

"This goes for you, too, Sasori!"

"Think of this as the favor you owed us. Now whenever we get kicked out, we'll use your house."

"You don't get to plan everything out without my consent! This is my house after all!"

"I could always tell Kakashi how I had to clean up for you..."

"..."

Deidara sat there snickering.

"URUSAI! Ugh. This is totally blackmailing... Fine! But only if you get kicked out! Don't use it for your own personal gain!"

"Deal."

After that, we ate in silence. I was still pissed, but since it was a stupid favor I owed... I guess I didn't have much of a choice.

"How did you guys get in anyway?" I wondered.

"A lockman believed that we got locked out."

"...Wow."

After breakfast was over, they finally left. Sasori glanced behind him to look at me.

"By the way, the other favor you owe us? You'll find out at school on Sunday," Sasori smirked.

Deidara stuck out his tongue and followed. I slammed the door angrily and stomped over to the kitchen to do the dishes.

"What am I supposed to do today...?" I sighed. "I suppose I'll explore. I don't know the place anyway."

After washing the dishes, I got ready to go outside. I noticed the new outfit that the girls had bought for me still sitting on my counter, so I decided to put that on. I was walking toward the door before I almost tripped. My ankle began to sting, but stopped.

"I guess I better be careful on my ankle... It still hasn't healed that well after all."

I locked my door and started to explore my town. Who knew I lived in such a peaceful neighborhood? There was an ice cream man, a man that sold balloons, and kids playing with each other.

_This neighborhood is too good to be true. If Naruto lived around here, he'd probably be the talk of the day, every day._

I inwardly laughed at the thought. Soon, I ended up at a park. There were two playgrounds apparently, seeing as that's what the map said. But the first playground was closer to the outside, so there were many children there. The other playground was deep inside. I was curious, so I decided to check out the playground on the other side. But a little boy came up to me and grabbed my pants. (He was short)

"Nee-chan? You shouldn't go to that one," he tugged on my pants with worry.

"Why not?" I wondered.

"There's always this scary boy that goes over there. If you go over there, you might get hurt."

_Scary boy, eh? _

I bent down to the little boy's level and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry. I'm a strong girl, all right? I can defend myself. But thank you for your concern." I patted him, then left.

As I continued, I heard whispers like, "That lady is going in there?" or "Mommy, stop her." "It's not my place, darling."

I ignored it and continued. Surely this boy can't be all that bad. I went further and further in. There were many trees, but not thick enough to cover the sun. Light shined through from spot to spot, but there was a lot of shade. As I got closer the playground, there were only monkey bars, a slide, and swings.

_I guess they didn't work on this playground a lot..._

A figure caught my eye. He or she was sitting on one of the swings just staring up at the trees. They weren't swinging. They weren't playing. They were just staring up.

_Scary boy? Is he the person? He looks more lonely than scary. I wonder who he is._

I walked closer to the boy, or so the kids said. But as I got closer, the face became more familiar.

"Gaara?"

He swiftly turned around and glared at me. But when he realized who I was, his eyes went from glaring to emotionless.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?"

"This playground is closer to my house. There's no use in going to the other one with noisy kids," he replied.

"So you _are _the scary boy they talk about," I chuckled.

But he didn't seem to find it funny. He just went into deep thought.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you..."

"There's no need to be sorry."

It was silent after that. Everything felt awkward, so I decided to climb on the monkey bars. I would hang upside down, swing around, or dangle. But I never once said a word to Gaara.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked not with annoyance, but it still sounded like it.

"What does it look like? I'm climbing. After all, ninjas' climb!" I laughed at my inside joke. But of course, Gaara didn't get it. "Inside joke. I used to always climb back at my old school with my friends. And we all pretended we were ninjas, so I made up that quote. 'Ninjas' climb!'"

Gaara just nodded, but I can tell he found it strange. But things were quiet once again.

"What are you doing out here alone, anyway? I'm sure Naruto and everyone are probably hanging out," I finally asked. I can't stand awkward silences between me and him. It seemed... unnatural.

"I still prefer peace and quiet. They usually make me go."

"I see."

Silence.

"...Soon... do you always come out here alone?"

"You talk too much," Gaara stated bluntly.

That sort of surprised me a little so I fell off the monkey bars. Once I again, I heard Gaara mumbling a "clumsy girl."

"Well, I'm trying to start a conversation... There's nothing else to do."

"No one asked you to stick around," Gaara said with slight annoyance.

"Fine! Sorry for keeping you company."

"I didn't ask."

"Well it looked like it."

"What do you know!"

"I know that you looked depressed yourself! Even after you told me Naruto made you realize things about moving on! It doesn't really seem like it, though."

"What do you care."

"...That's exactly what I asked you. And my answer to you is the same as you told me," I replied. _It's like I'm looking through his point of view at the time. Except my temper is shown quickly. He's always impassive about everything._

"Look," I began, "you and I may not be the best of acquaintances. But if Naruto's your friend, then I'm concerned about you, too. Naruto doesn't seem the type to get depressed, so if he saw you, he'd probably try to cheer you up, right?"

"Why do you want to cheer me up?"

_Good question. I have no idea! _"Because I don't want Naruto worrying about his friend."

"That's a strange reason."

"Well! It's still a reason!" I pouted.

And yet, another awkward silence.

"Look, just try to cheer up, okay? You may look scary and you're always impassive, but sadness doesn't suit you," I sighed.

"And you get to be sad?"

"Actually, because of Naruto, you made that little speech of yours which got me going a little better than when I first arrived. School's still an issue, but I'm not going to be a bitch about everything forever. After all, 'look toward the future,' right?"

"...Mm." Gaara nodded.

"Gaara!" a voice suddenly called.

We both turned to see a boy with brown hair. To me, he almost looked like Gaara. Except that boy had small black eyes.

"It's getting late. You better head inside," he came up to us.

"Whatever," Gaara closed his eyes and stood up.

"...Hello..." he looked at me awkwardly.

"...Hi?" I rose my eyebrow.

"Are you one of his fangirls?"

"..." I blinked. Silence. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I continued to laugh for about three minutes, but then pulled myself together.

"Ah.. I'm sorry. I just found it funny that you thought I would be one of those stupid, overly obsessed girls that try to fight over Gaara, but end up getting hurt, and it's all in vain and pointless!" I said with one breath.

"...I-I see," the boy was now backing away. "Then who are you?"

"Mizu."

"And you are Gaara's friend?"

"Er... I guess...? We don't know each other that well, so acquaintances?"

"..And Gaara let you hang out with him?"

"...Yes...?"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER?!" he shook Gaara madly.

"Kankuro, if you don't stop shaking me, I'll kick you in the balls and step on your head," Gaara said oh-so-calmly.

"..I guess you are my brother," Kankuro chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that. I'm Kankuro."

"I know."

"How?! Do you have ESP?"

"...Nooo... Gaara just stated your name."

"Oh. Right."

"It's getting late," Gaara interrupted. "Let's go."

"Yeah, wait up. See you later, kid," Kankuro ruffled my head.

_Twitch twitch. Ruffle my head, eh?! I'll show y-!_

"Shouldn't you be going now?" Gaara turned over to ask. "This neighborhood isn't that great to be alone in at night."

_Whoa.. Is Gaara concerned?! _Kankuro thought.

"I'll be fine," I reassured. "But yeah. I'll go now. See you at school."

We both went our ways. And that was my first weekend at the strange, yet interesting place.


	10. The art club

Disclaimer: not mine. My characters are mine.

* * *

Nothing happened for the rest of the weekend. Except for the fact that Sasori and Deidara were kicked out for the whole Sunday...

Deidara: WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOTHING HAPPENED?! YOU RAN AT ME WITH A KNIFE AGAIN! YEAH!

Hey! I'm telling the story, she-man! Back off! Ahem... Anyways...

_Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank!_

I groaned beneath my bed sheets.

_Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank!_

Reaching from underneath the blanket, I aimed for the snooze button on the clock.

"Ugh... Where is it...?" I groaned.

_Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank!_

"Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" I smashed everything I could reach for on the counter. Unfortunately, I reached too far and fell out of bed...

_Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank! Ank!_

I stood up quickly and glared at my new alarm clock. I grabbed it and chucked it out the door.

"SHUT UP!!" I shouted at it.

I fell back on my head and just stared at the ceiling. After a few minutes, I went to get ready, as usual. Walking out of the bathroom, my ankle shocked me a bit, giving slight unbalance.

"Oh yeah. I wonder if I won the basketball game.. Huh. Whatever," I shrugged it off.

I took my precious time since Kakashi-senesi doesn't come until later. As I made my way out the door, a thought struck me.

_...Sasori's going to make me do one more favor... shit..._

That just caused me to trek slower to school. The bell probably rang a long time ago. I made it to school and glanced around the halls, hoping no hall monitor stopped me. I wasn't in the mood after all. As I passed by the Principal's office, I didn't notice the door opening. It resulted in me slamming against the person walking out. Paper's flew everywhere, and the books made a loud thump.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" I scrambled around getting their stuff. "Let me help."

I picked up a book that had a drawing of a person on it. It was a little kid-ish, but it was nice. I also looked around at the papers and they had really nice art. Suddenly, the book was yanked from my hand.

"I don't need your help," the person replied in a calming voice.

I looked up to see a boy with black hair that was a little longer than normal boys. He had deep, coal like eyes. Almost like Sasuke's. But his skin was paler than Gaara or any boys she's seen. The strange thing about him was that he held a smile when he said that.

"Well too bad. I'm helping you anyway," I shoved papers onto his chest. "It's not right to give a fake smile like that either."

I walked off, but he still continued to smile.

As I reached my classroom, everyone inside was chitchatting away.

"Obviously, Kakashi-sensei hasn't arrived yet," I said to myself.

"OI! MIZU-CHAN! OVER HERE!" a loud, obnoxious voice cried.

I glanced over to see Naruto, Kairen, and Kyohaku waving madly at me. As I approached them, I saw a leg stick out trying to trip me. In turn, I kicked them and continued toward Naruto. He was giving me a she's-scary-look.

"What's up?" I sat down.

"We saw you walking around on Saturday!" Naruto grinned.

"Why didn't you let me give you a tour?!" Kyohaku whined.

"You're a tour guide, too...?" I gazed boredly.

"AND PROUD OF IT!" Hearts flew from her sleeve.

"So what did you think of your neighborhood?" Naruto asked.

"It was quite peaceful. I'd probably go to that park often. Seemed more peaceful than any other place."

Their faces darkened and stared at me like I turned into a zombie.

"...Nani?" I wondered.

"You went to the second park?" Kyohaku whispered.

"Yes...?"

"Dude! Gaara goes there!" Naruto waved his arms like it was an obvious fact in the whole world.

"I know?" I raised my eyebrows.

"What?! You saw him there?!"

"Yeah. I talked to him a bit. Then he went home with his older brother I think."

"...YOU TALKED TO GAARA?!" Naruto jumped from his seat.

I stood up quickly and covered his mouth, shushing him. I glanced around and saw some girls glancing over.

I whispered harshly at Naruto. "Do you want people after me again?! I've only been here three times and somehow I managed to get so many enemies! I'm still tired you know!"

"Yeah. But you made a lot of friends, too," Kyohaku had happy faces flying from her sleeves.

"All right class. Settle down. Settle down..." Kakashi walked in reading his book.

I walked to my seat and slumped there, not bothering to look at Gaara or Kyohaku who happily trod to her seat.

"We have a new student today. Be nice," Kakashi stated simply.

The new student walked in and my eyes widened.

"YOU!" She pointed at him and shouted.

The class all looked at her while the boy smiled.

"...Anything you'd like to say, Kurai-san?" Kakashi asked.

"...Nothing..."

"Hello, My name is Sai," he introduced himself. "I hope we can get along."

"Thank you, Sai. Please sit over there. And now class, please copy this down."

Sai sat somewhere at the side of the classroom near the windows. I zoned Kakashi out and fell asleep.

The bell rang signaling that it was lunch time. Mizu didn't feel hungry, so she walked around school.

"My new friends are probably looking for me... Oh well. I'll hang out with them tomorrow. I don't know where they are anyway."

I glanced at the school bulletin and saw a certain headline.

_Masque Ball:_

_THIS WEEK!_

I stared at it, but shrugged it off. Dances weren't particularly my kind of thing. Someone suddenly tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to see a whole group of girls looking shyly at me.

"...Please don't. I don't have time for fangirls," I muttered.

"No, no! It's not that!" a girl defended.

"We're part of the basketball team!"

"...Eh?"

"We want you to join," Hisaki stepped up in front.

"You again... I thought I was your enemy or something."

"You are. But you make a good asset to the team."

"That's nice..." I sighed and walked off again.

"Hey! I practically complimented you! Don't act high and mighty! We did get a draw!" Hisaki yelled.

_Oh. So it was a tie after all. _I thought, but continued to walk off.

"Wait! What Hisaki meant to say was-" a girl tried to speak up.

"Look. No matter what you say, I'm retired from basketball. It's fun, but I like to play when there's no pressure to win anything. The one-on-one wasn't much pressure because I was playing by myself. I don't get along with most coaches, either. Thank you for asking, but it's a no."

"So now you're chicken!? Can't take on pressure, huh!?" Hisaki provoked.

I stopped in my tracks. Hisaki smirked thinking she had gotten to me, but I just stood there, thinking.

"No... I'm just...tired..."

I walked away and they didn't say a word. As I rounded the corner, I bumped into someone.

"IS THIS GOING TO BE A HABIT!?" I yelled at no one.

"I was looking for you," the voice interrupted.

I looked and saw Sasori...

"...Oh shit..."

"So you remember after all. Then this makes my job easier."

"Okay.. What do you want..."

"You are basically my slave for a month," Sasori shrugged.

"...WHAT?!" my scream echoed throughout the school. "ARE YOU MAD!? THAT'S TOO EXTREME! I HAVE A LIFE!"

"Too bad. Unless you want me to tell Kakashi-sensei?"

"...I hate you..."

"Deidara probably hates you more. Now, come with me," Sasori walked off.

As his _slave _I _must obey_. I felt like dying again...

I followed him into a classroom with a group of people. I looked around and saw there were paintings and sculptures, and all kind of artsy stuff.

"What am I doing here?"

"You're joining the art club."

"..."

Before I could shout anything, someone shouted ahead of me.

"You did it again? Hell! We don't need that many damn people!"

"On the contrary, Hidan. The more people, the more money we can get."

"Greedy bastard."

"You're still a mouthful."

"SHUT THE HELL UP, KISAME!"

"Hey now. I don't really think we should scare our new member like that," a boy with a hood on tried to calm everyone down.

"He's right, you know," Sasori agreed. "We don't want to scare away another girl. The rules says we need at least two and we only have one."

"Yeah, but.. Why does _she _have to join," Deidara debated.

"Shut up, she-man," I stuck my tongue out.

Most of the group laughed their heads off, while I stood there clueless.

"Hey, I like this girl already!" the boy named Hidan laughed.

"What made you choose me anyway?"

"Your file said you did a lot of art," Sasori explained. "Tsuande already gave us a form to fill you in."

"...Why do people always go through my stuff...?" I slouched.

"I didn't. I "swooned" a girl to do it for me."

"So now I'm hanging out with more "popular" boys... Why can't my life be simple?"

"I can make it more complicated," Sasori said.

"Okay! Fine, fine! I'll join the freaking art club..."

Hidan practically jumped at me and put his arms around me. "Sup! Name's Hidan. I cover the horrific paintings."

I looked around and noticed a few bloody or gory paintings. "I see..."

"Must you try to scare every girl like that, you idiot?" the boy with a few stitches on him scolded.

"Shove it, Kakuzu. I'm not a sissy trying to weave stuff. Go make a scarf!"

"For your information, I weave the most complicated patterns. I get plenty of money from them."

"He's always been a greedy bastard," Hidan muttered in my ear.

I boredly nodded.

"I'm Tobi! I got photography!" the hooded boy shouted happily.

"He has a different name, but he won't tell us. Keeps his identity a secret," Sasori explained.

"What? Tobi is a good boy!"

"I don't know who has more issues. Deidara or Tobi," I blinked.

"That's the head of this here art club. His name's Pein. He doesn't talk much," Hidan pointed to a boy who had a lot of piercings.

"I make sculptures of people," he simply stated.

I had noticed the sculptures when walking in. They were detailed and look exactly like certain people she's seen when she passed by them.

"You're very talented," I commented.

"I'm Konan. I do origami," she shortly introduced herself.

"Zetsu. I collect plants and paint them. You can say I have a green thumb for plants. But stay out of my way."

"Don't mind him. He has two different personalities sometimes," Tobi clapped.

"I'm Kisame," he smirked. "I paint landscapes, but the water more than plants like Zetsu."

"Uchiha Itachi."

That was all he said.

"...Hi..."

"He doesn't talk much either. He does 3-D art."

"Wow... Wait. Uchiha? Are you related to Sasuke?!" I pointed at him.

"Yes."

"...Geez... I can see why you're related..."

The group laughed again. Except for the "silent types" of course.

"What do you do, Sasori?" I asked.

He looked at me for a minute, but then pointed to a few of his art work.

"I create puppets or mini sculptures of people. Deidara does clay," he added.

"I didn't ask what she-man did... but that's nice to know. So what am I going to do?"

"You mean, you're not ditching?" Deidara asked.

"Ditch? Why would you think that?"

"The girls we bring in here get scared and back out. But the ones that aren't scared aren't all that great of artists," Kakuzu rolled his eyes.

My mind went back to the boy called Sai. He was a pretty good artist and didn't seem to be bothered by stuff like this. But then I remembered they needed girls, not boys, so I didn't say anything.

"What _can _she do, Sasori. You're the one that brought her in," Hidan pointed at Sasori.

"I guess you can say I paint portraits, or sometimes whatever I feel like. It's not much compared to you guys," I answered for myself.

"Oh so now she's acting humble?" Tobi smiled under his hood.

"Painting portraits is fine. At least you don't _think _you're good," Zetsu assured. "But if you really do suck leave now."

"...You really do have two personalities don't you..." I muttered.

The bell rang. Lunch was over.

"You come after school tomorrow for your first assignment," Sasori ordered.

"What is it?"

"Painting for that dance that's on Wednesday," Itachi said as he walked out of the room.

"Oh.. That's it? Fine, fine. Just remind me. I might forget."

"Remind yourself," Konan walked out of the room.

"I see she doesn't seem to like me...?"

"She does that to every girl Pein talks to," Tobi smiled. "It's okay! I still like you!"

"...Uhhh... Thanks?"

"See you around, kid," Kisame smirked.

Pein just walked out. Hidan argued with Kakuzu while going out of the room. Sasori left and Deidara followed, sticking his tongue out at me. I did the same. I looked around at the classroom again at all the paintings and wondered.

_With all this art, the rules should have been an exception for them. I don't really think they need an extra. My paintings are simple compared to them._

I closed the door and continued to me next classroom.


	11. The Last Day of Fun

Disclaimer: I finally get Microsoft back! And naruto doesn't belong to me but my character does.

* * *

I stared boredly at the clock awaiting the final five seconds to tic-toc away. As soon as the final bell rang, I was up and out of my seat being the first one out of class. Home sweet home. I was happily walking toward the exit thinking about how I can finally go home, until I remembered that I was in the art club.

"….Great… Even when Sasori isn't here, he manages to make my miserable," I muttered.

Suddenly, a voice rang in the hall calling my name. I turned to see Kairen waving and jogging up to me. She was a very interesting girl. Very unpredictable. But the most interesting thing is, she was like my exact opposite. I preferred water, and she would prefer fire. I liked the dark and she, well not anything light; just something shiny. You could almost say we could be one of those exact opposite twins. Kairen and I got along like best friends already and it was only my third day at this school. Following behind her were Sakura and Ino.

"Hey, guys!" Sakura smiled.

"Hey," I replied.

"Are you guys going to the dance on Wednesday?" Ino squealed.

"Maybe. If Sassycakes asks me," Kairen winked.

"But you could still come and just hang out with us girls," Sakura laughed.

"But he better ask you to go! That's what a boyfriend should do!" Ino crossed her arms.

"Yeah, and if he doesn't, he'll be pestered by Kyohaku and her 'a prince-charming must go and wait for something something princess,'" I rolled my eyes.

They all laughed and nodded their head in agreement.

"So are you going with anyone in particular, Mizu?" Ino giggled.

"I don't go to dances. No point. Waste of time. Too much work," I replied in a straight-to-the-point manner.

"Aww. But you could still come with us gals! We promise it would be fun!" Sakura tried to persuade me. "Besides! No one is going to know who you are while you wear a mask!"

"Then how am I to know where you guys are?"

"Because anyone can find a girl with pink hair. There's no one else in the entire school that has pink hair! Except for that strange nurse. I heard she got fired," Ino added.

"Yeah. Come on, Mizu! It'll be fun!" Kairen smiled.

"I'll think about it I suppose…"

We all then heard a heavy tapping of shoes coming in our direction. When we turned, we found ourselves looking at a blonde-haired boy happily grinning and waving at us. Not to mention yelling.

"MIZU-CHAN! KAIREN-CHAN! INO-CHAN! SAKURA-CHA- AHH!" Naruto was interrupted by Sakura punching him over the head and onto the floor.

"WE'RE RIGHT HERE, BAKA! THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL!" she scolded.

"Gomen, gomen!" Naruto rubbed his head nervously. "But you know that Sai guy? He acts like a jerk! HE SUDDENLY STARTED TALKING ABOUT MY PENUS!"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT IN FRONT OF LADIES, YOU IDIOT!" Ino punched him as well.

I shook my head and gave a small smile at Naruto's outburst. It didn't bother me, but to think someone would actually talk about that and shout it out loud. But then again, that Sai was even stranger since he was the one that brought it up.

"Hey, there he is now!" Kairen pointed at the school's entrance.

Everyone saw Sai walking up to a man that looked stern. He could be mistaken to have been in the army by the way he stood. Maybe he was from the army. This man looked old enough to be either Sai's father or even grandfather. Who knows. This man even had a patch over one of his eyes and a scar that portrayed an x to make him look even more strict and army like.

"Did you cause any trouble in school?" the man sounded as if he was interrogating instead of questioning.

"No, Danzou-sama," Sai replied.

"What have I said about that fake smile of yours. Don't use that on me."

"Hai, Danzou-sama," Sai's face immediately turned emotionless.

"Hmph. Let's go," Danzou ordered.

"….That was weird," Kairen watched them leaving.

"Yeah. If my father did that, I would have some irritation shown on my face," Ino stated.

"Yeah, he seemed so emotionless. And why did he keep calling the man Danzou-sama? I'm assuming they're related," Sakura wondered.

"Yeah… Strange…" I aimlessly watched them walking off. _Why? Why did he do that? Why didn't he say something to defend himself? _"…Anyway, guys. I'm going to go. See ya."

"Bye, Mizu! We'll make sure you go to that dance! Just you watch!" Ino cried out.

I waved nonchalantly without looking back. I looked around and decided to visit the peaceful park. No one was waiting for me at home anyway, so I could be as late as I want. Suddenly, I was tackled down and squeezed to death by a figure. I was about to roll over and push them onto the pavement, but I stopped after hearing… /shudders/

"HI, MIZU-CHAN!" hearts flew out of Kyohaku's sleeve.

"Kyohaku?"

"YES?!"

"I can't breathe."

"OH! I'M SORRY!" she jumped off. "Are you going to look around again?! I'll tag along and help you find your prince charming!"

"…….."

Without another word, I walked off toward the park. But she still followed happily.

"Where are you going?"

"No where."

"But you're not walking nowhere so you must be going somewhere!"

"The park."

"I love the park! The kids are cute! But some can be brats and I chase them around. But then their mothers yell at me. I end up chasing them around, too!" Kyohaku clapped.

"I'm not going to the park with kids. I'm going to the other one."

"EH?! Oh wait. I see. You want to go there because Gaara's there, aren't you," she slyly smiled.

"Why would you think that?" I looked at her curiously. "And no. the park is quiet. I like quiet things."

I had exaggerated the word quiet, but Kyohaku kept on following. She's probably used to people either laughing with her, or ignoring her because she didn't seem to mind my treatment about her talking too much.

We walked quietly- well, I did. Kyohaku kept talking. We passed the first park with noisy kids. Kyohaku scared a kid off, and followed me again to the quieter one. Of course, the kids once again whispered amongst themselves about how we were walking into _that _park. But, I ignored them again. Gaara wasn't that scary anyway.

_Actually, I still need to get my revenge on him for steping on me during the car ride. He may have helped me, but his intention seemed different. _I twitched at the thought.

"Here we are! Wow, it seems so little!" Kyohaku gazed at it amazingly.

"You've never been here before?" I asked.

"Nope! I was too scared at first. But once I discovered Gaara didn't do anything when you came, I'LL GO, TOO! Gaara sometimes scare me, but the boy needs to lighten up sometimes!"

Once again, she continued to ramble on and on about Gaara. So I decided to sit on the swing. Kyohaku occupied herself by hanging upside down on the monkey bars and swung back and forth.

"The view looks funny!" she laughed with upside down rainbows coming out of her sleeves. Probably to represent a smiling rainbow. "How long can you hang upside down, Mizu!?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"Come on try it! Try it. Try it!"

I decided to go with it since she won't stop until I do. I climbed on the monkey bars and hung upside down with her. And she just kept talking… I believe I almost fell asleep hanging upside down. Suddenly, I heard a thud and a hysterical laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I FELL! HAHAHA! WOW, YOU CAN STAY A LONG TIME!" She shouted.

I was entirely freaked out now. I did everything in my power to not fall on my head from her distracting…freakiness. Suddenly, her laugh immediately stopped and I glanced at her in wonder. She was nervously smiling at someone and I looked to see who. Being upside down, on a high monkey bar, my gaze was smack dabbed into the other person's gaze. And their shocking teal eyes threw me off.

"AH!" _**Thud! **_

I sat up rubbing my head in pain and winced. I could have sworn I heard someone mutter,"clumsy girl."

"What are you doing here?" an emotionless voice asked.

I looked up remembering that another person had come. And it was, that's right, Gaara the jerk!

"You! What are _you _doing here!" I pointed angrily.

"I always come here. So both of those questions imply to you," he answered.

"OH YEAH?! WELL-!"

I was interrupted by Kyohaku stepping in and saying, "Mizu-chan was bored and I followed her here. And she beat me at hanging upside down!"

_Wasn't she freaked out by him a moment ago? Mood swings…_

Gaara just stared and decided to sit on the swing. He didn't seem interested in the reason I was here anymore. And like how boring this story is going, there was an awkward silence. (im stalling at the moment. I still need 2 put ideas 2gether 4 the dance).

"Are you guys going to the dance? I am! I am!" Kyohaku waved her hands madly.

"Waste of time," Gaara and I both said at the same time.

We both glared at each other at the same time, too. So what if we were getting along yesterday? Our competitive aura was up and running today, so yesterday was forgotten.

_Just you wait, Gaara. I'll get back at you._

"Aww! Why? No one is going to know who you are anyway!"

"That's what Sakura said."

"AND SHE'S RIGHT! IT DOESN'T EVEN COST THAT MUCH! Actually I still need to buy the ticket…" Kyohaku began sulking.

"My sister already bought three wanting me and my brother to go. We both declined," Gaara said.

"…Are you implying-?"

"YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE US TWO FREE TICKETS?!" Kyohaku clapped and grinned happily.

"That's almost… nice of you?" I rose my eyebrow in curiosity.

No. I want to be rid of those tickets so Temari doesn't bother me and my brother about the dance."

"Whatever you say!" Kyohaku shouted.

"I'll hand it over tomorrow," he informed.

"Does your sister go to our school?" I asked.

"No. she's in college."

"…….."

"…….."

"…Then why did she buy a ticket from our school?"

"She wanted to feel young in a high school. And since it's a mask dance, no one would know who she is," Gaara rolled his eyes.

"……."

"…….."

"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" I busted out laughing. I fell back and clutched my stomach, rolling around. "Okay. I'm good. I'm good. Anyway, I'm going to go. I have a long day tomorrow…"

I ran off, swinging my backpack on my shoulder, not waiting for their response. I made it back to my house and sprinted upstairs. Immediately, I threw my backpack somewhere random and fell backwards on my bed. I gave a loud sigh and stared at the clock on the wall.

_I better fix my alarm clock tomorrow…_

That was my lost thought until I fell heavily asleep.

Late At Night

I woke up feeling less tired than I did before. I looked outside and it was dark.

"Night time already? I slept that long? What time is it?" I asked myself.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2 a.m.

"I nearly slept twelve hours?! Daaaanm!" I stared at the clock astonished.

I decided to retrieve my alarm clock that I had thrown outside to set it to the time I needed to wake. But as I lay back on my bed, I couldn't fall back to sleep. I stared at the ceiling for at least fifteen minutes until my mind wandered off.

_That Sai. He's confusing. Why does he hold a fake smile for? And he obeys that old man like a mindless drone. I agree with Ino. If my parents did that, and they do. I would get irritated and probably just yell at them. So… why?_

"He's a weird one he is," I mumbled.

Then I decided to figure out a way to get back at Gaara. But since he wasn't going to attend the dance, no ideas came to mind.

"I guess I'll just have to wait for an opportunity," I sighed.

After a while, I fell back to sleep again.

Next Morning

I dragged myself into class once again being late. And once again, my teacher wasn't there. I plopped onto my seat and let out the longest sigh I have ever given. Even Gaara stared at me.

"Are you okay, Mizu?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"It's just that it's going to be…. A long day…."

This was one of those days I wished school wasn't going to be over. But unfortunately, all things must come to an end.

"Hey, Mizu! We plan on hanging out today! Want to join us?" Tenten waved.

"No, I can't. I'm busy today."

"Oh.. Well, are you going to the dance?"

"I don't know."

I left without another word toward the gym where we were supposed to meet for the decorating. As you can tell from all my emo-ness, I hate labor. I am lazy and whether its art or something easy, I'm just plain lazy.

"We'll you seem to be in good spirits," Sasori smirked.

"Oh, shut up. What are we supposed to do?" I put my hands on my hips.

(im sry if its short. I ran out of ideas. I would like sum ideas if that's all right. Im not one to kno how to decorate 4 a masked dance, so imma need sum suggestions. And thank u 2 misha who gave me the idea of a skool dance)


	12. A Dress?

Disclaimer: still don't own naruto and I despise homework. Hope this chapter makes up for my long disappearance.

It turned out that the dance was to be held in the commons. The items were transferred into the gym by mistake. Now I have been forced to run back and forth with fake pillars placing them in certain places by the order of… Sasori…

_**~Flashback~**_

"_**Deidara, Sasori, You both go outside and decorate the entrance," Pein ordered. "Konan, make lanterns and anything else that would match."**_

"_**Hai," she nodded.**_

"_**As always, Kakuzu, you are in charge of the tickets."**_

"_**As long as Hidan isn't there to make me lose count."**_

"_**WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!? HUH?! KAKUZU?!" Hidan exclaimed.**_

"_**Zetsu, Tobi, you both will decorate," Pein continued ignoring the arguments between Kakuzu and Hidan.**_

"_**Hai!" Tobi saluted cheerfully.**_

"_**Itachi, create paintings that match the theme."**_

_**Itachi merely nodded without saying a word.**_

"_**Kisame, you're in charge of the food preparation. Make sure there's enough for everyone that are coming."**_

"_**Oi, oi! What am I doing?" Hidan asked.**_

"…_**You are going to clean up after the dance," Pein stated bluntly.**_

"_**WHAT!? I'M NOT A DAMN JANITOR!"**_

"_**You created a mess the last time we prepared for a dance… Now your consequence is to clean," Kakuzu explained.**_

"_**It wasn't my fault! I already said that!"**_

_**I stood there wondering how a group like this still managed to keep things so organized. Maybe Pein was just that good of a leader. **_

"_**Don't think we've forgotten about you," Sasori spoke up.**_

"_**All right, what do you want me to do?" I asked.**_

"_**Move those props to the commons."**_

"…_**But I thought we were doing it in the gym…"**_

"_**No, some of our props were brought to the wrong location. Now you get to bring them over to the commons, yeah," Deidara smirked mockingly.**_

"_**What?! That's not fair!"**_

"_**You'll live. You're strong enough," Sasori walked past me and out the doors. Deidara followed, but not before sticking his tongue out at me.**_

"_**One of these days, I'm going to yank out his tongue and glue it to his hand so it would mock him for the rest of his life…" I muttered.**_

"_**I feel for you," Hidan came over putting his arms around me. "They always gives us the most crappiest jobs."**_

"_**Enough talk. Go to your positions," Pein began to walk over to Konan to help her with the lanterns.**_

_**~End of Flashback~**_

I was nearly done with the pillars until I was given another assignment to hang up streams of fabric from pillar to pillar… to pillar… Being short wasn't helping me much either. But listening to Zetsu and Tobi's conversations slightly helped me with my frustration. It distracted me from the irritating thoughts of Sasori and me as his…slave…

"No! You're doing it wrong!" Zetsu scolded.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Zetsu!" Tobi chuckled nervously.

"It's okay… You always twirl the plant clockwise around the pillar. Not counterclockwise."

"Hai, hai."

"He really does have two personalities, doesn't he," I asked Hidan.

Hidan, with nothing else to do, decided to help me since well… he's taller. Damn the men and their tallness…

"Yeah. He's a freak," Hidan stated bluntly.

"…And you're not?" I muttered.

"HEY! SAY THAT AGAIN!" he cried.

"She's right. You're a freak," Kisame walked up smirking.

"Eh, eh? Shouldn't you be checking on the fish sticks or something fish boy!?" Hidan insulted.

"As always, your mouth runs away with you," Kakuzu leaned against the wall.

Hidan scoffed.

"Suddenly everyone's a against me."

I simply shook my head. I decided to rest for a bit and observed what everyone was doing. Hidan was subconsciously hanging the decorations for me while arguing with Kakuzu. Kisame had walked outside most likely waiting for the food to arrive. Deidara and Sasori were both outside also. They were both creating something at the entrance, but I couldn't tell what it was. Deidara was using clay while Sasori was carving wood. I admit, they were both talented…

I turned over to where Itachi was sitting. Somehow, he managed to achieve both small and huge canvases. He seemed to be concentrating hard on the picture, yet his strokes were as if it was the simplest thing in the world. This boy is definitely a talented artist. Zetsu was quiet for the rest of the time. Tobi seemed to be humming away while helping. He seemed nice, but somehow, I felt he was hiding something. Nah. I must be paranoid.

Konan had impressively created lanterns, flowers, butterflies, and probably other things made from paper. She moved onto blowing up balloons. Pein had helped her hang up the papered decorations and the balloons around some of the pillars. He had also created a balloon arc to place near the entrance. They never talked to each other though. Here and there, it would only be about asking where something goes.

_If Kyohaku knew them, she would definitely try to bring those two together. Even I see it. _I thought.

Hidan had already finished with my job and continued to insult Kakuzu while he insulted Hidan back, so I didn't seem to have anything else to do. But no one was supposed to leave until everyone was done.

"Maybe I should try to get to know everyone…?" I asked myself. _I've never been the upbringing conversation type of person, though…_

I walked over to Itachi who was on his third painting. The other two were placed somewhere to dry, but the one he was working on right now was incredible! He had painted a masquerade mask that was half white and half black. To the left of it was a flowing, dark red curtain that seemed to be being blown by an invisible wind. He had yet to finish, but Itachi was working on another object. The background was to be a light shade of black so that it wouldn't clash with the half black mask. Everything so far seemed three-dimensional.

"That's really amazing," I gaped.

"Hn."

"…You really are Sasuke's brother, aren't you?"

Itachi paused for a brief moment, but started to paint again. It almost seemed as if talking about his brother was a touchy subject for him. I tried to change the subject with something else. I glanced down to see an empty cup next to him on the table with tea leaves on the bottom.

"…Uhh.. So you like tea, huh?" I tried to start a conversation. (See, this is exactly why I'm not good at starting conversations. We'll talk about tea! ….)

Itachi nodded.

"I hate tea… I think it tastes bitter."

"Tea helps the mind," he answered.

"Oh, yeah. Let's be mean to us, but have a nice talk with the new girl about tea," Hidan complained, overhearing our conversation.

"She doesn't have a loud mouth," Kakuzu closed his eyes.

"HUH?! SAY THAT AGAIN TO MY FACE!" Hidan flipped off Kakuzu.

"…Uh.. It was nice.. Talking to you?" I felt awkward. "…Nice paintings by the way."

I hurriedly walked away and gave a small sigh. _That was harder than I thought._

"Mizu," I heard someone call for me. I looked up to see Sasori motioning me to come over.

"Oh.. Now what…?" I grumbled.

I trekked over to Sasori and Deidara, who was still working on the clay figure. I took a glance at it, and it looked like a clay human. A man in a tuxedo. I assumed it represented the men coming to the dance because on the other side was Sasori's wooden decoration; a figure of a girl. It seemed incomplete. She took no pose like the clay man that was slightly bowing.

"What…?"

"You're our lucky winner. Go put on this dress. I need a girl model for my puppet," Sasori threw a dress at me.

"….NANI!?" I exclaimed. "YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT DRESSES! BOTH OF YOU PRACTICALLY INVADED MY CLOSET WHEN YOU WERE FREELOADING!"

"That's too bad. A slave never disobeys their master."

"Why can't you choose Konan!?"

"She won't do it. And if we try to force her, Pein will just tell us to stop, yeah," Deidara nodded.

_He's asking to be murdered! _I glared at Sasori.

"Well go on. Stop dawdling," he shooed me away.

I growled and stomped away to the bathroom to change. I could hear Deidara snickering behind me and practically feel the smirk on Sasori's face. Hidan stopped in the middle of his argument with Kakuzu and looked at me curiously.

"What got shoved up your ass?" he asked.

"SHUT UP!" I snapped and continued toward the bathroom, cursing Sasori and Deidara.

"…Chicks can be scary sometimes," Hidan rubbed the back of his head.

"No men in the world can understand them," Kisame shook his head.

~awhile later~

"Mizu-san?" Tobi called from outside. "Mizu-san? You didn't run away now, did you?"

"I'm not coming out!" I stubbornly stayed in the bathroom.

"Aww, it can't be that bad! Come out for Tobi?"

I hesitantly came out. The dress Sasori handed to me was long enough to touch my knee. It was a two-layered dress. Inside was white as well as the sleeves, which open up near my wrists. On top was the black layer which had short sleeves. They were slightly puffy and had ribbons tied at the end of the sleeves. But being that Sasori never gave me any shoes, I was still wearing my sneakers. From under Tobi's hood, I could see a small gape.

"See. You look pretty," he grinned.

I never did know how to answer to compliments. So I merely sighed and slumped back to Sasori. As I made my way back, Deidara started laughing which caused me to twitch.

"You look like a man in a dress!" he pointed.

A shoe ended up hitting him squarely in the face making him stumble backwards, clutching his nose. I crossed my arms and glared at Deidara, but my stance slightly dropped as I noticed Sasori was just staring the whole time.

"What?" I asked.

"Stand up straight," he ordered.

I raised my eyebrow curiously at him, but did so anyway. He then went over to Deidara, who had been rubbing his nose violently and slightly tearing up. They both started to whisper to each other about something. Suddenly, Deidara smirked and nodded, while Sasori turned back to me and walked over.

"You're going to have to pose for me," he said.

"…Okay?"

"But I'm choosing the pose for you."

"Whatever." _It can't be that bad._

"Lean slightly to the side; keep your head straight."

I did so.

"Put that hand into a fist and keep that arm in the middle of you."

"…." _What is he doing…?_

"Now open your other hand and place two fingers on your chin, yeah!" Deidara finished.

"…" _Wait a second… _"Hey, wait a minute! What kind of pose is this?! I'm not doing a flirty pose!" I exclaimed.

"Master commands it," Deidara mocked.

"It's enough I'm already wearing a dress! Shouldn't your model represent a girl coming to a dance?!"

"Girls at Konoha High who go to dances are usually flirty. So why not make that their image?" Sasori shrugged.

"No they don't!"

"All right. Name one person, not including you, that would not flirt at the dance, or do something close to it."

"……"

"Exactly."

"Well, why do you even need me to model. I thought you were good at making puppet like people?" I stalled.

"I excel more at making men versions than women," he shrugged.

"Why couldn't you use Deidara? He's close enough."

"WHAT!?" Deidara growled.

"Believe it or not, his physic is manly. And also, he's too tall."

"….ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I'M SHORT!?" I pointed my finger angrily at him.

"There's nothing wrong with being short, kid," Kisame walked outside to once again wait for the food order.

"Enough chit-chat. Hurry up and go back to that pose I showed you," Sasori waved his hand.

I huffed and did as I was told, unfortunately. _And all of this happened just because Kakashi-sensei came to class early…_

Sasori began to carve the wooden doll into the pose I was taking. I was having a hard time keeping that stance, so I decided to distract myself with something else as not to get tired from standing so long. Kisame had already went back in, so I glanced over at Deidara. He was just putting the finishing touches on the clay man. I had to admit, his artwork was really good. He must have used a ton of different clays to give the man perfect hair color and skin color. The shading he gave the man almost made him look real, too. I would never have thought someone like Deidara was so talented. Nevertheless, I still don't like him.

"Are you done yet?" I asked Sasori.

"I may be an impatient person, but art takes time. It needs to last forever," he answered, still concentrating on his puppet.

"Hm, suddenly you're so poetic," I smirked.

"Art doesn't last forever! If it were up to me, art should be a big bang! Fireworks are works of art, yeah," Deidara disagreed.

"Art is not a bang, Deidara. It should be something that lasts forever. You got caught when you tried to make a big bang."

"You do fireworks?" I asked.

"He tried to. Our principal punished him good, though."

"I'm not scared of her! Yeah!"

"….Uhh. Sasori didn't say that, Deidara."

"…I'm going to take a break, yeah," he hurried away.

I rolled my eyes. Sasori didn't bother to answer Deidara, so he continued doing what he was doing. I observed the way he was creating it. The shoulders were measured correctly so that it would give the implication of leaning to the side instead of having messed up shoulders. The head of the wooden doll was a feminine, so it would not be mistaken as a boy. Her body figure was a normal curve. Not too curvy so that the female puppet would seem like an anorexic type of girl with big hips, and not to wide as to give her a manly physic. It was hard to believe Sasori wasn't good at creating a female doll. Her hands were so well done, too, and I know for a thing that hands are the hardest to create.

"You're really good," I complimented.

"Not as good as Pein. He has photographic memory, so he could sculpt without looking at anything twice."

"You're too modest. I should be the one to say something like that. I'm not as good compare to all of you. I've already observed what most people here could do."

"Portraits are hard as well. You can never make a painting look exactly like someone else. There are always room for mistakes and you have to adapt to it so it would look normal."

"What about Itachi? He didn't seem to make any mistakes at all," I recalled to his freaking amazing painting.

"He can't do portraits. He's only good at making up things on his own," he replied.

"Oh. Well, I still wonder why you guys chose me, besides the fact that you need one more girl."

Sasori didn't say anything. He just continued working. I thought maybe he didn't hear me since I sort of muttered it anyway. Before I could speak up again, he started first.

"It's done. You can get out of that stance now."

"Finally!" I fell down to the ground, relieved.

"It looks like everyone's done," Pein and everyone else walked outside.

Sasori nodded. "I just need to paint this. I'll be finished by tomorrow in time for the dance."

"In that case, everyone is free to leave. All of you better be right on time for the masquerade."

"…Eh? Uhh, I think I may have heard you wrong… Did you say, '_everyone_'?" I wondered.

"Yes, he did," Konan replied. "Is there a problem?"

"Uhh, yes, well, you see… I never planned on coming."

"Everyone has to come. It is required since you are part of the art club."

"What if I came down with a sickness?"

"Come in a bubble," Kakuzu shrugged.

"You're joking!" I exclaimed.

"You are required to come since you still have a job to do," Pein shook his head.

"What?"

"You paint portraits. We need to see how well you do, so you will be painting the portrait of the Dance King and Queen," Zetsu explained. "So you better not mess up."

"Ah, well I have no dress!"

"The one you're wearing now will do fine. If you have no shoes, Konan will lend you one."

"You don't even know my size!"

"No, you both are the same. I measure," Kakuzu stated.

"You will go to the dance, regardless, Mizu," Sasori began to carry the puppet and the clay man back into the commons for storage. But he turned back to give me one more reply. "Master orders it."

"….I really do hate you," I twitched.

"So it's settled. You better get a ticket by tomorrow and arrive, or I'll have Hidan hunt you down."

"Fine!" I swiped my backpack and stomped into the bathroom to change back to my regular clothing.

By the time I came out, everyone was already gone. I exited the school and began to walk back home.

_Even after a long day, it will be longer tomorrow… And it's only my second week at this new school! _I closed my eyes and sighed. _At least I didn't run into those three people I met on the first day. Maybe they ditched or something._

I suddenly slammed against someone and fell back.

"Ow, ow! I'm sorry! I wasn't looking!" I apologized.

"You never do…" a voice replied calmly.

I glanced up to meet the eyes or a certain red-head.

"..Oh shit…" I muttered to myself.

"You're home late."

"What's it to you!?" I stood up pouting.

He reached into his pockets and took out a rectangular piece of paper and handed it to me. I stared at it curiously, wondering what he was doing.

"What's this?"

"You're going to the dance, aren't you. I told you yesterday that my sister gave me one, but I wasn't going," he answered.

"Oh… Right. Thanks," I took the ticket. _Maybe my luck is finally turning around slightly. I happened to have needed a ticket! _"Wait. You were about to come to my house to give this to me?"

After all, we were already close to my house. Gaara wouldn't be walking around here for the heck of it. He would definitely be at the park.

"My sister planned on shopping today with me and my brother. I needed to 'accidently lose' the ticket," he replied while walking away. _Actually it felt like you needed one. Not that it mattered. I didn't need it._

"Oh… Well… Thanks again," I walked back to my house.

I entered and walked up to my room, sighing heavily as I landed on my bed.

"Well that felt awkward. I'm always having awkward conversations with him, don't I," I talked to myself. "Oh… I better find myself a mask while I'm at it."

I went to find some money and walked outside my house. I walked around looking for a store to buy from, but the mall was a fifteen minute drive away. But then I a flower shop caught my eyes. They were selling masks for a limited time.

"Huh. Maybe I am getting lucky."

I walked in and the shop bell rang, signaling that someone entered.

"Mizu?"

I looked over to see Ino at the register. She seemed surprised and happy to see me.

"What are you doing here? Oh wait! Let me guess. You're going to the dance, right?"

"Yeah. I need a mask. Do you have any black ones?"

"We have them all in different colors and sizes. They're at the glass-shelves over there," she pointed.

I walked over and examined them. Some were plain, and some were the most outrages masks I've ever seen. They were all color sorted, so I glided my way to the black ones.

"So you work here, Ino?" I asked her.

"Yeah. My mom owns this shop and I help her after school. You know, if you purchase a mask, you can choose a flower for free to give for the one you're going with," she grinned.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm not going with anyone. I was just forced to go."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she laughed. "You can always give it to someone you might meet."

"Mm.." I was still distracted by trying to find a good mask. None of them so far caught my interest.

"You need help?"

"Yeah."

"What does your dress look like?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, the mask should always match with your dress, silly!"

"Oh.. Well. It's layered black and white, and-"

"No need. I already know exactly which one," she stopped me.

…_.Wow…_

Ino walked over and began to look around as well. Her face lit up and reached to grab a mask.

"How about this one?"

It was, of course, a black mask. The outside and the outside rim of the eyes were silvery-white. There were black feathers on the outside, except it formed into something that looked like wings.

"That will do," I nodded. It's not like I knew what to pick anyway.

We both went over to the counter and I paid for the mask.

"Choose a flower now, Mizu!"

"Oh. All right, I'll choose one," I sighed.

I randomly chose one. It was blue-violet and it looked almost like it was wilting, but the petals merely twisted inward toward itself.

"OoOo. A Monkshood," Ino examined it. "And it will be in full bloom by tomorrow, too."

"You actually know what its called?" I asked slightly impressed.

"I know its meaning, too. It fits someone like you."

"It does?"

"Yeah. It means 'a foe is near.' Basically, it's saying the other person better be careful of you," she chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm going to jump out and murder them," I shook my head. _…Actually I do want to murder two certain freeloaders…_

"Well, everyone should beware. Thanks for stopping by at the Yamanaka Flower Shop!" Ino waved.

"See you tomorrow at school, Ino," I waved back.

I entered my house and placed the flower in a cup filled with water. I don't have any vases in my home. I took about some left over food that I made yesterday and sat down at the table eating. I stared at the mask I bought and sighed.

"Another long day waiting for me tomorrow…"


	13. How Exciting

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

"Miiiizzzuuuuu," a voice called.

"Mmm… Huh..?"

"Miiizzuuu!"

"What?"

"MIZU!" Kairen yelled in my ear.

"HUH?! WHAT?! I'M AWAKE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

I frantically looked around and saw everyone staring at me. I glanced over at the clock and saw that school was over.

"Had fun, sleepy head?" Kyohaku grinned.

"School's over already?" I asked, my brain not processing everything yet.

"Well, you practically slept the whole day," Shikamaru muttered.

"You did, too," Ino twitched.

"So, you're coming to dance, right, right, right?" Kyohaku jumped up and down happily.

"I guess. Gaara did give me the ticket," I sighed.

"….Gaara what?"

"…Gave me… a ticket. Look, he wasn't doing it for charity. His sister bought it for him and his brother so he gave them to me and Kyohaku because he didn't want to go. Right?" I looked over at Kyohaku.

"YUP!" she piped up happily.

"For a moment there, I thought he was asking you to go," Ino almost had a heart attack.

I burst out laughing causing a few other students to look over and stare at me.

"What's so funny?" Kairen wondered.

"Gaara wouldn't ask me out. That's crazy. We don't even like each other. Not to mention I need to get revenge on him…" I muttered the last part.

"You guys seem to get along well, though," Tenten spoke up.

"Look, I don't like Gaara, and he doesn't like me. End of story. Now I have to go."

"So soon?"

"Yeah. I'm in the art club, so I'll have to come back here early."

I began to walk out of the room, but suddenly, something held my arm back. I turned around to see Sasuke glaring at me.

"What…" I asked with annoyance.

"You're in the art club with Itachi?" he growled.

"Oh yeah… You two almost really seem alike," I yanked my arm back and walked out of the room again.

"Don't compare me with him!" he shouted at me.

I turned around and noticed how everyone else seemed tense and anxious at the conversation of Itachi. I raised an eyebrow in wonder. Itachi had sort of reacted the same way when I spoke of Sasuke. It seemed it was a touchy subject to speak about the Uchiha family. I didn't know what was going on, but I gave Sasuke a cold glare and walked off. Kairen ran after me and looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry about him," she said.

"You don't have to be. I always thought your boyfriend was a bit if-y," I smirked.

"Well, we were all shocked when you said you were in the art club."

"I was technically forced… but let's not get into detail…"

We both stopped and saw that new student, Sai, again. He seemed to be standing alone at the school entrance while scribbling in what seemed to be a sketch book.

"It's not nice to stare," he spoke up, not even looking at us.

"Uh… Sorry?" we couldn't think of anything else to say.

We both walked away.

"That was weird…?" Kairen whispered.

"It was awkward…"

We both turned to look back and saw that the old man had arrived again. Everything about them seemed almost strict and disciplined. I shook my head and walked off in the other direction.

"See you tonight, Kairen," I waved.

"We're going to meet near the stairs!" she cried before I left.

"Okay!" I shouted back.

When I reached home, I ate a little bit and went to take a shower. I walked over to my closet where the dress Sasori lent me was hanging. I stared at it for a long time and gave a tiring sigh.

"This is ridiculous…"

I had put on the dress, but stood in front of the mirror for a long time, wondering if I should actually do something to my hair. But before I was able to decide, the doorbell rang. I rushed downstairs, trying not to trip on the dress, so I jumped five steps away using the railing. As I opened the door, I stood face to face with Sasori and Deidara…

…in tuxedos.

"We came to make sure you didn't run off, mm!" Deidara crossed his arms smirking.

I merely stood there, staring at them blankly. My eyes examined them up and down quietly and stared straight at them once more. I lost it. My face turned red and my cheeks puffed up, holding in my breath. I clutched my stomach and bellowed a laugh. Falling to my knees, tears welled up in my eyes as I continued to laugh.

"What's so funny, huh!?" Deidara exclaimed.

"YOU!" I pointed at him. "YOU LOOK SO FUNNY IN THAT! HAHAHA!"

"Oh?! And you don't in that dress!? Mm!?"

"We should switch, she-man. You probably would look better in this dress."

"What?!"

"Enough," Sasori stood there impatiently. "We have to head there early. Hidan, once again, messed things up after trying to kill a freshman that got him angry."

"Messed up?" I wondered.

"We have to get new drapes and linen, mm," Deidara answered.

"WHAT?!"

"Stop shouting and let's go," Sasori motioned for me to come.

"Oh, all right, all right. Let me find some shoes."

I managed to find some shoes that was close enough to be slippers, but they weren't those heal like slippers with straps or a pointy end. But let's not get into detail with shoes. Sasori, Deidara, and I had to walk to school because none of them had a car. Not that I minded; I always walked to school either way.

At our arrival, Hidan had been forced to do the work all by himself. So you can imagine how pissed and complaining he was. Kakuzu either ignored him, or made mocking comments while setting up a table so he could collect the tickets or money for those paying at the door. Everyone else just made sure everything was in place.

"Well, it looks like you have everything taken care of Hidan," I snickered.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! THAT DAMN FRESHMEN SHOULD BE THE ONE DOING THIS! HE PISSED ME OFF, DAMN IT!" Hidan cursed.

"You have no one to blame is yourself," Kakuzu stated bluntly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"Sasori," Pein approached us, "have you finished with your assigned project?"

"Almost. I should be finished within twenty minutes," Sasori nodded.

"So fast?" Konan came to Pein's side.

"I have an assistant," Sasori pointed at me.

"Eh?! Why not she-man?!" I whined.

"It's Deidara!" he argued back.

"Whoever said Deidara knows how to paint?" Sasori merely answered. "You still need to listen to me, too."

_Or else he'll tell Kakashi-sensei and I might get in trouble…_

I imagined Kakashi growing into a giant with lightning flashing around him in the background as his eyes sparked and glowed.

"_Mizu… You didn't go to attention like I assigned?! A whole week of detention!"_

That's what I imagined Kakashi telling me… I shook it off and followed Sasori begrudgingly.

"HAH! WHO HAS TO DO SOME WORK NOW, HUH?! TAKE THAT!" Hidan shouted after me.

"SHUT UP, FREAK!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU BITCH?!"

Hidan dodged another flying shoe and almost fell off the ladder.

"YOU ALMOST KILLED ME! WATCH IT!"

"I think that was the whole point of her throwing the shoe, Hidan," Kakuzu said.

"Where does she get all those shoes, mm?" Deidara slightly twitched. "And where's Tobi?"

* * *

"Take this," Sasori handed me paint. "Start from the bottom and work your way up. I'll start from the top."

"And what makes you think we'll finish everything in twenty minutes?" I mumbled.

"I don't, so you better work hard or else I'll live in your house for a week," Sasori threatened.

"Eep…" I immediately started painting, but made sure I didn't make any mistakes as to restart all over again.

"Wait, wait! So should I start when they get bored or should I start when everyone doesn't pay attention?" a voice questioned from outside.

I glanced around to look at the voice being as it sounded squeakily familiar.

"Don't pay any attention. Just continue working," Sasori never even glanced up from painting.

I merely scoffed and continued working, but the voice continued to shout.

"Can I still do my job before we start?!" the voice asked happily.

"Sure," a calm voice answered warmly.

"YAY! LOVE WILL BLOOM TODAY!"

"That's…" I paused.

"Ah? Mizu-chan? AHHH!! MIZU-CHAN!" the voice neared toward me.

"Oh no…"

I was immediately tackled down with arms around me, hugging me with happy faces flying everywhere in the air.

"Kyohaku… please get off…" I held back from shouting.

"ARE YOU EXCITED, MIZU-CHAN?! I AM! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DANCE!" she ignored my plea. "AND MAYBE I'LL EVEN FIND YOUR TRUE L-"

"DON'T! Say it…" I covered her mouth.

"If you're going to be loud, leave. She and I have work to do," Sasori was already getting impatient.

_Geez. And I thought I was impatient. _I thought. "He's right though… I'll get in trouble."

"Awwww! That's okay! We can have fun later!" she got off me, smiling even more happily.

"But why are you here so early?" I stood up, dusting myself off.

"Shh! That's a secret!" Kyohaku winked.

"….If it's a secret… then shouldn't I _not _know it's a secret?"

"…Right! Pretend you didn't hear anything!!!"

"It's hard not to hear anything when you're the loudest one here," Sasori spoke up with a sigh.

Kyohaku merely stuck her tongue out at him and quickly hugged me. Leaving, it seemed she ran to catch up with someone. A sigh escaped my lips and I went back to the wooden doll. I paused and saw that Sasori had already painted it from the top to the middle.

"….How did… I won't ask…" I went back to working on my half.

I had begun to paint my way toward the top of the back of the wooden girl, while Sasori made it down to the bottom in front of it. He and I didn't say much; Sasori was focused on his work. I always glanced up at him now and then. I recalled how he somewhat spoke out when I first ran into him, but now- now he seemed tired. His eyes held a shine, yet, there wasn't much in it. Sasori paused and also looked up at me.

"What?" he asked.

"What? Nothing," I went back to paint the finishing touches. _I'm probably just imagining things. I bet it's that she-man that always gets him tired._

* * *

The dance finally arrived and we had managed to get everything in order. Pein dimmed the lights and the room practically jumped even though it did not shine. Itachi's paintings brought out realism in the room, Konan's paper making made the room glow, Zetsu's plant skills made the plants seem as if they moved along with the light in the room, and the aroma of food made things even greater.

"Wow…" was I could mutter out.

"Heh! It was thanks to my work, too! Although things should have been a little bit darker and more blood colored," Hidan bragged.

"You were the one that messed it up in the first place," Kakuzu shut down his self-praises.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, HIDAN! WHY CAN'T I EVER HAVE MY MOMENT!?"

"You never had them in the first place."

"Kakuzu, the guests are arriving," Pein motioned him to go outside and collect the tickets and money.

"I know," Kakuzu walked out, continuing to ignore Hidan's outbursts.

"We should all go get our masks now," Kisame inquired. "I'll go watch over the food table and serve everyone."

Everyone put on their masks as people began to enter for what is now, the dance room. People came in one by one, but the room was filling up fast. Everyone had already arrived and we were able to close the glass doors so that the music doesn't echo throughout the neighborhood. I looked around to see if I could spot anyone familiar, and with luck, I saw short pink hair talking amongst her group with other familiar hair colors.

"Hey, Sakura," I called out, walking toward all of them.

"Mizu! You look so cute in that dress!" Sakura put her hands on my shoulder.

"I told you she was going to wear that one!" Ino smirked with victory.

"This is troublesome… Why did _I _have to go?" Shikamaru complained.

"Don't whine! You didn't even wear a mask!" Ino smacked him over the head.

"I thought it was a waste of money since I was never going to wear it again…" he rubbed his head.

"The perfect mask for you should have been the teary jester," a teasing voice came from behind.

I looked behind me to see a girl wearing a short, silky dress that was light purple. Her mask was white and only covered her eyes. She had four, spiky ponytails and her hair color was sandy yellow.

"Women are really troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Do you want to get beaten up, Shikamaru?" Sakura shook her fist at him with veins.

"Uh… I don't recognize you," I spoke up. "I didn't forget someone from the group, did I?"

"Oh! How rude of me," she took off her mask. "I'm Temari."

"Oh? I'm Kurai Mizu. You're Gaara's sister, then?" I blinked. _The girl who wanted to feel… young again?_

I did everything in my power to look at her with a calm expression. It felt possible since I had the mask I bought from Ino's shop on.

"Yes, he is. Gaara and that no-good Kankuro gave away their tickets to someone," Temari scoffed. "There's nothing wrong with going to a dance at all."

…_I better not tell her that person was me and Kyohaku…_

"Mizu, here, doesn't like going to dances either," Kairen approached us with Sasuke by her side, as usual.

"Kairen! Sasuke! Don't you two look like a happy couple?" Tenten went over and put her arms around Kairen's neck.

"Oh, are we that recognizable even with our masks on?" Kairen sighed.

"EH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO RAMEN!?" an obnoxious voice cried over at the food table.

"Back off, kid. Ramen doesn't go with the theme to this dance," Kisame growled.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Naruto objected. "RAMEN GOES WITH ANYTHING!"

"N-Naruto-k-kun?" Hinata poked him gently. "I-I made s-some ramen j-just in case."

"Eh? Who are you?" Naruto blinked.

"Poor Hinata…" Ino sighed.

"HAVE NO FEAR! KYOHAKU IS HERE!" hearts flew out from her sleeves.

"Kyohaku, the whole point of wearing a mask is so that no one would recognize you that well," Sasuke insulted her a bit. "But I guess only someone like that Dobe won't notice."

"Hmph! Well! I'll get him to notice!" she stomped off with dark clouds floating out of her sleeves.

"Don't let Naruto hurt himself trying to think," I joked.

I looked around and observed everyone merely enjoy talking to each other, or perhaps, insulting each other. I couldn't help but laugh a bit. Even though the dance was boring, everyone around me was amusing. There were some of my new found friends that hadn't come, however. Such as Shino, Chouji, and Gaara. Shikamaru seemed to have been the only unlucky boy that was forced to come.

"Has anyone seen Neji?" Tenten wondered after looking around herself.

"No, but has anyone seen that new nurse?" Kiba answered.

"New nurse?" Sakura wondered.

"Our principal recommended this new nurse herself," Kairen gaped. "I bet she's that good!"

"Forget that! I heard she was hot!" Kiba had a grin on his face.

"Yeah, Kiba. The way you talk, you'll definitely get a girlfriend soon," I snickered.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"Getting a girlfriend is troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled.

"Well, I'm an independent woman, so I don't need a boy-" Temari started.

But she was interrupted by a deafening scream that ceased the laughing, the talking, and the music. A dark cloaked figure with a full-face black mask suddenly brushed by me and shoved me out of the way with their elbow.

"What the hell!?" I cursed.

But the figure did not stop to even acknowledge me and continued to run at high speed out the door. Kakuzu did not know what was occurring, so he merely stared at the dark figure in wonder as they ran past his table.

"Kyohaku!? KYOHAKU!?" Naruto's cries caused everyone to be silence once more.

The group and I turned our heads over immediately and rushed over to Naruto and Hinata, who were bending down. People gasped and some girls shrieked in terror. As everyone approached, our hearts stopped and our faces turned pale. Kyohaku laid in a pool of blood; her own blood. She had been stabbed in the stomach.

"Kyohaku!" Sakura shouted in shock.

Kyohaku barely talked with blood flowing from her mouth. All she could do was mumble something that no one understood.

"Hey! Don't just stand around! Call an ambulance!" Shikamaru's voice echoed throughout the dance hall.

"The phone line's been cut!"

"I have no signal on my cell phone!"

People began to panic even more, especially at the sight of a dying person.

"Kyohaku! Who did this!? Was it that dark figure!?" I shouted in anger and frustration.

Kyohaku nodded slowly.

"Do you know who it was?"

Kyohaku nodded again.

"Who!? WHO!?" Naruto yelled, tears streaming from his face.

"A-akki… (evil spirit)" was the last word she could muster out.

Kyohaku gasped, holding her throat with one arm reaching out in the air before she collapsed, taking her last breath… with one skull floating out of her sleeves…

"Kyohaku!?" Naruto shouted again.

Hinata checked her pulse and began to tear up slightly as well. I held my breath, hoping against hope that Kyohaku was still alive. I felt angry at the murderer and angry at myself for not being nicer to Kyohaku. Hinata slowly put down Kyohaku's arm and shook her head.

"S-she's… gone…"

"KYOHAKU!!!" Naruto took in a deep breath and screamed as her name echoed through the dance hall.


	14. murder mystery

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you've read Detective Conan, well, this is where my idea for a murder mystery was from. I didn't copy anything, but made my own. It's not as good as Detective Conan, but it's basic enough. No Gaara just yet, either. But all good things come in time.

* * *

"Oi! Why hasn't anyone called the police, yet!?" Shikamaru cried out.

"None of us have phone signals for some reason!" a voice in the crowd cried.

"Damn it," I cursed. "I'll go find the police station!"

"No, I will go," a voice spoke up.

We all turned around and saw Neji standing there. He had just removed his mask to show us it was him, and turned to Hinata.

"Hinata-sama, please make sure no one else touches, or moves her body until I come back with the police."

"Hai," she nodded.

Neji turned and sprinted out the door.

"Something feels strange, doesn't it?" Temari spoke up and looked to Shikamaru.

"Yeah, a bit," he agreed.

"What? What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Well-"

"Hey, what's going on?" a girl's voice broke through the crowd.

We all turned to see the girl in a red, sparkling dress, wearing a white mask and gloves. She looked upset and made her way through the crowd toward us. She paused in horror as she saw Kyohaku's bloody body.

"W-what happened!?"

"You didn't know?" I asked, still angry at the situation. "This happened just now. Everyone knew about it."

"No! I was outside talking on my cell phone, when suddenly, my signal was lost. I came back in and there was a huge crowd around something, but… but… I didn't think it would be something like this!"

"Are you saying your phone worked before?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Then why did everyone's signal disappear?" Kairen blinked in worry.

"You heard Kyohaku… It was an evil ghost!" Naruto had the look of fear in his eyes.

"THIS IS NO TIME TO BE JOKING AROUND, BAKA!" Sakura punched him.

In a different situation, I would've made fun of Naruto for being scared of ghosts, but Naruto was right. We had all wondered why Kyohaku had said it was an evil spirit as she died.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten realized something. "Is that why you both said it was strange? If Kyohaku knew who it was, then she would've just said so!"

"Yeah! But instead, she told us it was a demon," Lee added.

"Maybe it was a demon…" Naruto mumbled.

"Baka. Demons don't run away. They disappear on the spot," I spoke up. "But if that's so, then that means Kyohaku couldn't directly tell us who it was."

Everyone, but Naruto, looked in toward the crowds. We all glared suspiciously, making all of them anxious.

"What's everybody looking at?" Naruto looked with them.

"It means the murderer could be among them, Dobe," Sasuke bluntly put it.

A hand raised in the crowd and waved back and forth madly. Someone jumped up and down to be noticed.

"Who's that?" Temari asked.

"That's…"

"Mizu! Mizu!" he waved.

"Tobi?" I blinked.

Tobi ran through the crowd and fell flat on his face as he entered our circle. He stood up immediately and looked at all of us through his orange, one eyed face mask.

"What is it? Why aren't you with Zetsu? You're supposed to be out in the garden," I asked.

"That's because I wanted to tell you something," he answered.

"In case you haven't noticed, Tobi, I don't have time to be playing around. My friend just got killed!"

"No, no! Tobi is a good boy! Zetsu and Tobi saw someone suspicious outside in the garden right after the scream. We came in and we heard someone was killed, so I thought-"

"What? Who was it?" Shikamaru stepped up.

Tobi pointed to the girl who had intruded and seemed upset about her phone.

"M-me?" she stuttered.

"That? She was talking on her phone outside," Naruto corrected Tobi.

"After the scream happened, you say?" Temari's eyes narrows. "Are you sure?"

"Tobi is a good boy."

"There were two others," a calm, feminine voice entered our circle as well.

"Others!?" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yes. They came in after the girl was killed."

"Do you suppose?" Sakura wondered.

"That the murderer ran and came back here, pretending like they didn't do anything?" Ino finished.

"It would make sense as to why Kyohaku wouldn't admit their names out loud," I also thought about the fact.

"Bring them here," Sasuke said.

"Yeah. And everyone else who witnessed the murderer, please leave the room if you don't wish to get involved!" Kairen spoke up.

"Why do people have to leave?" Naruto asked.

"If there are still more people who came in after the murderer, then they are suspects," Shikamaru explained. "Everyone here would know it instantly, too, so if the murderer tried to leave with them, someone will automatically point out that they weren't there during the scene."

"Oh, I see," Naruto nodded.

"No he doesn't…" Sakura mumbled off to the side.

"How about this way, Naruto. People don't want to see a dead body in the middle of the floor. The numbers of a crowd should decrease," I tried to put it a different way.

"OH! I mean… I already knew that, Mizu-chan!"

_Mizu-chan… That's what Kyohaku called me, too… I'll find the murderer and beat them up! _I clenched my fist.

Tenten put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with worry.

"It's okay, Mizu. We call want to find the murderer."

"And avenge Kyohaku," Ino raised her fist in the air with determination in her eyes.

* * *

The dance floor was cleared away and the people had left into the gym to wait until the murder was solved, or until the police came. Fortunately for us, there were only three other people that stayed behind; three suspects. They all still had their masks on, but there was no point in asking them to take it off since none of them had the same mask as the murderer. The first girl was named Diana and was a track runner at school. The second girl was known as Autumn and she was a basketball player at the school. The third person was a boy named Eric and he was a football player.

"What's going on? I don't even know what's happening and you accuse me of murdering someone?" Autumn wondered, slightly impatient.

"Yeah… It's not everyday you're suspected…" Eric stuttered.

"And why only us three?" Diana added.

"Because you three are the only ones who weren't seen before and while the murder happened. All of you were only seen after, so that could only mean the murderer ran and came back," Temari glared at them. "Now, it's best if you cooperate with us."

"We're not nice people when we're angry," Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Fine, fine," Autumn agreed as did the rest of them.

"Do you guys have any relation with Kyohaku?" Lee asked them.

"Actually, I think I came to her for counseling. She was a volunteered student that day and helped people go through their hard times," Diana answered.

"She paired me up with someone," Autumn looked to the limp body of Kyohaku.

"This girl sometime visited the football field and was pairing our coach with someone," Eric recalled.

"Say what?" I had thought he was lying. _He might be the murderer…_

"Oh yeah!" Ino exclaimed. "She was always trying to get Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei together."

_So it was true… Guess I was wrong. _I shook my head. _Calm down, Mizu. You have to think rationally if you want to find the murderer._

I looked up and glared at all of them, asking my question.

"Where were you when the murder happened?"

"I was outside on my phone, until my signal gave out. I wandered around the garden just like that orange masked guy said," Diana stated.

"I was in the bathroom the whole time, but I didn't hear any screaming," Autumn shook her head.

"I was in the bathroom, too. When I came out, I saw this girl coming out the same time as me," Eric looked over to Autumn.

"Just what are you implying?" she growled.

"Hey, there. We're not pointing fingers at anyone just yet. For all we know, none of you is the murderer, but we can never be too sure," Shikamaru tried to stop a dispute forming.

"Why can't we just leave this to the police?" Diana wondered.

"All phone lines were down. Someone went to get the police already," Kairen replied.

"You said you two were in the bathroom?" Temari asked Autumn and Eric.

"Yes?"

"Can you prove it?"

_That's right. If they can't prove it, then it's a chance for them to be the murderer. _

"Yes, I can. Just go find my friend in the gym. She'll tell you that I was there," Autumn nodded.

"I'll go get her, then," Kiba went off.

"What about you?" I looked to the boy.

He nervously stared at me and shut his eyes with a sigh.

"I-I'm sorry… I don't have any proof. But! I did tell my friend that I was heading to the bathroom!"

"That's not enough. You need a witness," Sakura shook her head.

"S-Sorry… I don't have one…"

_Again, this boy. If he's the murderer, then he's damn careless. _I glared at him from the side.

"Is this your friend?" Kiba came back.

"Yeah, that's Emily," Autumn nodded.

"Autumn can't possibly be accused of being the murderer!" Emily was outraged. "She was in the bathroom the whole time! I should know!"

"How?" Ino blinked.

"I came in to make sure if she was okay because she ate something bad for her stomach-"

"I don't think that information was needed!" Autumn cried out with embarrassment.

"Anyway, when I came in, I knocked on the door to make sure she was doing okay. And she was! I heard her flush the toilet and knock back. Then I heard a scream and ran out."

"Is that so?" Shikamaru curiously wondered.

"Oh! And this boy here, I saw him enter the bathroom the same time I went in to check on Autumn. He couldn't have heard anything because he had his headphones on," Emily looked over to Eric.

"Really? Why didn't you say so before?" Sasuke glared at him.

"I-I thought it was irrelevant…" he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nothing is irrelevant when it comes to murdering," Temari sighed.

"Yeah. Even a mere leaf could be crucial to a murder case," Lee nodded.

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto nodded as well.

"He doesn't get it, does he…" Kairen sighed.

"No, he doesn't," Sakura twitched.

_So… he isn't the murder all over again. Damn. I have to stop jumping to conclusions._

I inwardly punished myself for almost making a stupid mistake of blaming someone immediately. For now, I had thought it was best to sit back and listen, and only ask things when I know for sure it's not jumping to conclusions.

"Ah! There should have been a murder weapon, right?" Tenten snapped her fingers.

"That's right! The weapon wasn't around when we found Kyohaku," Kiba looked at all three of them. "Looks like we're going to have to search your stuff, if you've brought them."

"Our stuff?! Now you're invading our things!?" Diana cried out.

"What did we say about cooperating?" Temari glared.

…_I wonder if Gaara and Kankuro are ever afraid of her? Wait, why am I thinking that a time like this? Damn it, pull yourself together!_

I watched as all three of them took out their bag or purse. In Eric's bag, he had his headphones that was mentioned by Emily and a CD player. Autumn had nothing but gum wrappers, and some had rolled up gum in it. She also had some broken string and, surprisingly, make-up. There was also crumbled up paper to finish up her little artwork. Diana had her cell phone inside her purse, a few loose change, and some make-up. There was also a flower and a scissor.

_A scissor?!_

"Oi, Oi! Why do you have scissors, dattebayo!?" Naruto pointed at her accusingly. "You used that to stab Kyohaku, didn't you!?"

"N-no! I swear I didn't!"

"Naruto, don't jump to conclusions just yet," Shikamaru stopped him.

"There are no signs of blood marks on them," Hinata observed carefully when Sakura had handed them to her.

"What if she went to wash it away?" I glared at her

"I don't smell any remains of blood, or soap smell on it," Kiba replied.

"Huh?"

"Kiba has a high sense of smell," Kairen smiled at me.

"It's not possible for her to wash it away so quickly either," Temari added. "Someone would've immediately seen her washing away blood. That Tobi kid said he only saw her talking on her cell phone."

"Why do you have so many trash in your purse?" Lee blinked at Autumn's purse.

"It's a habit. I always use my purse as a trash can. I clean it out at the end of the week," she shrugged.

"And I'm sure I can't stab anyone with a headphone," Eric zipped up her bag.

"So no one has the murder weapon…" Temari thought out loud.

"Maybe it was thrown outside?" Tobi popped in from behind me.

"Tobi!? What are you still doing here!?" I exclaimed.

"Tobi is a good boy. Tobi wants to help," he made a peace sign with his fingers.

"Why do you keep speaking in third person, Tobi?" I sighed.

"Tobi thinks it's fun."

"We don't have time for fun and games right now!" I scolded him.

"Actually, this guy could be getting somewhere," Sasuke looked to him. "We should all search the area outside to see if the murderer dropped anything as they were running."

"Then we should split up," Kairen agreed.

I was the first outside. I was determined to find anything, anything at all that would help me find the murderer. I had no idea what I was looking for, but everything was dark outside, so it made things harder for me to spot something out of the ordinary. Without realizing it, I stumbled upon rocks and nearly fell forward. But I suddenly stopped falling forward as I felt someone grab onto my wrist. I turned around to see that Diana had caught me.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Mizu-chan!" Naruto ran up to me. "You ran out so fast we couldn't catch up!"

"We saw you nearly trip over those rocks," Temari and everyone else also ran up.

"But Diana was so fast! She ran all the way here to catch you on time," Ino smiled thankfully at her.

"She _is _on the track team," Sakura rolled her eyes.

"When did they have so many rocks near the bathroom window?" Kiba observed.

"I think they were installed two days ago," Tenten thought about it.

"Thanks," I turned over to Diana.

"No problem," she smiled.

"Shikamaru? What's wrong?" Lee had seen how distracted Shikamaru looked.

"No, it's nothing. Naruto," Shikamaru turned over to him.

"Nani, dattebayo?"

"Take these three back inside. If one of them really is a murderer, we shouldn't give them the chance to escape. Also, if none of them is the murderer, then the real one might come back and hurt Hinata since she's alone with Kyohaku."

"Got it," Naruto nodded and led all three of them back inside.

"Everyone! We found something!" Kairen's voice could be heard nearby.

We all ran over to see Sasuke and Kairen bending over something. Sasuke looked up at us and confirmed.

"It's the cloak the murderer was wearing."

"And the mask," Kairen added.

I turned back toward the direction of the entrance and turned my gaze back down to the floor.

"So the murderer ran out the entrance, turned the corner, threw their stuff here, and came back without anyone noticing?" I answered what everyone else was thinking.

"It could be any of them, then!" Ino sighed in frustration.

My mind lit up in realization. Kakuzu had been sitting near the entrance before, so I hoped that he was able to notice anything weird about the murderer at all. I ran back to the entrance and he was still sitting there.

"You realize a murder case had occurred, and you're still sitting here?" I walked slowly toward him to catch my breath.

"Someone has to guard the money, don't they?" he answered. "But I'm sure you didn't come to me just for that answer. What do you want?"

"Sharp, aren't you… I wanted to know if you saw anything strange when the murderer ran by you."

"Nothing."

"Nothing?! What do you mean nothing?!"

"They concealed themselves with no flaw. I neither saw what they were wearing in their cloak or what they looked like beneath their mask."

"Just great!" I kicked the dirt in anger.

"But I can tell you this. They're fast at escaping," he looked at me.

"That still doesn't help us," Temari walked up behind me. "All three of our suspects are in a sport that requires them to run fast. It could be any one of them."

"It's not my problem," Kakuzu closed his eyes.

* * *

Everyone went back inside, trying to sort things out. Nothing else was found after the cloak and mask were discovered. The murderer had left nothing else behind.

"This is bull," I cursed. "When we discover who the murderer is, I'm beating them to a bloody pulp. Whatever their problem was with Kyohaku, they don't have the right to take away her life."

"Don't leave me out," Sakura clenched her fist, implying that she also wanted to beat them up.

"And all of us," Lee agreed.

"This is ridiculous!" Diana became upset. "No one has much evidence as to who the murder is, so why can't you just let us go?"

"She's right. None of you are FBI agents or polices or whatever," Autumn nodded.

"Why don't we just let the police handle this?" Eric sighed.

"Speaking of which, Neji sure is taking a long time…" Tenten sounded a bit worried.

"Maybe they were on break?" Naruto blinked.

"All of them at the same time…?" Sakura twitched at his stupidity.

"Shikamaru? You're abnormally quiet now," Temari stated.

"Yeah…" he answered in a daze.

"See, you can't figure out who the murderer is. Just let us go. I don't want to be here anymore," Diana glanced nervously at Kyohaku's dead body.

"I'm telling you! It was a demon!" Naruto stubbornly stated his idea. "Kyohaku said so! Akki, Akki, dattebayo! That means evil spirit!"

"Naruto, for the last time…" my mind suddenly felt as if lightning shot through it.

I looked over to everyone else to see if they had gotten the same feeling as me. Sasuke, Kairen, Sakura, Temari, and Shikamaru had seemed to have realized it, too. But suddenly, they all looked a bit stumped. I had a questioning look on my face at their sudden change of mood, but also realized it myself.

_That's right… in every murder case, there has to be evidence of how the murderer did it, but there's not enough evidence right now. There isn't even a murder weapon! _I grunted in frustration. _Will we ever figure this out and avenge Kyohaku? Damn it!_

I suddenly heard movement and turned over to see that Shikamaru had bent down on one knee. He shut his eyes and brought his fingers together, but his thumbs were on top while the rest of his fingers faced the bottom. It was a weird position, and I wondered what he was doing.

"This is-" Ino's eyes widened.

"Shikamaru's stance," Temari finished.

"Shikamaru's stance?" I blinked.

"That's right. You don't know," Sakura turned to me.

"Know what?"

"Shikamaru does this stance whenever he's stuck on something. He recollects and recalculates everything in order to find a conclusion for it," Kairen explained.

"What of it…?" I shrugged.

"Do you know the game of Shogi?"

"Yeah. I know it's pretty hard, too. Why?"

"Whenever Shikamaru does this stance… no one could ever beat him at that game. He has never lost once. He even wins against our teachers!" Naruto nodded.

"W-What?" I stuttered.

"To put it basically," Sasuke looked over to Shikamaru. "his IQ is said to be over two hundred."

"T-TWO WHAT!?" I nearly fell backwards.

"He's opened his eyes!" Kiba exclaimed.

We all turned to Shikamaru and noticed that he had gotten out of his stance. I looked into his eyes and my own widened. He was no longer the lazy boy that found everything troublesome. He was someone who looked as if he had everything figured out and could do anything he wanted about it. I was taken back.

_He knows? So he knows? _I was eager for him to say something.

Shikamaru walked over to Emily who had sat far away from everyone and whispered something to her. She looked up in thought, then shook her head. Shikamaru smirked. He came back to us and sighed.

"This has been really troublesome."

"So you got it, huh?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru looked up at all of us with confidence. "I know who the murderer is."

* * *

i'm going to host a little game. i want to see how many of you can guess the right murderer based on what i gave you. it might not be enough material, so just guess if you want. when i think it's enough, i'll post my next chapter so you can see if you were right or not. you can post your answer on the review or go to my profile and go onto the poll. good luck.


	15. The Answer

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. AND SCHOOL'S ALMOST BLOODY OVER! BANZAI! BANZAI! The voting was quite interesting. It tied for both Eric and Diana. You'll just have to find out who the real murderer is by reading on! Sorry to disappoint you if the way the murderer arranged it wasn't what you expected. But like I said, I'm not as smart as the author of Detective Conan. I'll stop rambling now…

* * *

"Y-You're saying you figured it out already?!" I exclaimed in awe.

"I guess so," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Don't fool around! Did you or didn't you!?" Diana exclaimed.

Everyone's attention was fully turned to Shikamaru.

"Well, first of all, I have to go check something just to make sure."

"What?" Eric blinked.

"A piece of the evidence," he smirked. "Everyone can stay here. I'll be back soon if my assumptions right."

"You're saying the murderer is among us?" Autumn asked.

Shikamaru headed out the door, and without turning back, he replied. "Yeah."

Everyone glanced at the three suspects nervously, accusingly, or questioningly. The three suspects even glanced amongst themselves with caution and wonder. Shikamaru headed toward the area with a bunch of rocks near the bathroom window. He bent down closer and began to look around. His eyes perked up and then turned his eyes toward the bathroom window, glancing inside. Shikamaru gave another smirk, grabbed something, and headed back inside.

"Well?" Ino asked.

"Yeah. I've definitely confirmed it. There's no doubt about who the murderer is," he nodded.

"Tell us already!" Naruto shouted.

"The murderer was you, wasn't it?" Shikamaru pointed at none other than-

Autumn.

"W-What?" Autumn slightly backed away. "Don't be ridiculous! You're just pointing fingers at anyone, aren't you! I was in the bathroom the whole time! My friend even confirmed it, or have you forgotten!?" Autumn exclaimed.

"No, I haven't forgotten. That's a perfect alibi for you, isn't it? Having your friend think that way."

"Heh! Stop saying that as if I've tricked her or something! How could I have possibly killed the girl when I was no where near her!?"

"She has a point, Shikamaru," Sakura looked at him worriedly.

"Shikamaru says it's you, so it's got to be you!" Naruto pointed at her angrily. "I don't care if it's girl or guy, I'll beat you up for doing that to Kyohaku, dattebayo!"

"Matte, Naruto!" Kiba held him back. "We don't have any evidence that she did it! Don't be so rash!"

"Are you doubting Shikamaru!?" Naruto struggled.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed causing Naruto to stop and look at her, astonished. "K-Kiba-kun is right… W-we don't have e-evidence, so… even if Shikamaru was telling the truth… y-you can't beat her up i-if it was only an a-accusation… I'm a-afraid it doesn't work that way…"

Naruto's eyes widened a bit at Hinata's words. He nodded and no longer struggled against Kiba to hurt Autumn. "You're right… Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. I do have proof," Shikamaru spoke up.

"Eh!?" everyone exclaimed.

"It was pretty clever, too, yet somewhat so simple," he scratched his cheek tiredly. "Autumn. You only pretended to let your friend hear a knock on the bathroom door…"

"Nani!?" I turned my head toward her. _That guy… how does he figure this all out? _

"More accusations?" Autumn growled. "Don't make me laugh! That's not proof at all!"

"Oi, oi. Just let me finish," Shikamaru sighed. "Hinata, I'm going to need your help with something. Head over the girl's bathroom and I'll meet you there."

"H-hai," she stood up and ran over to the girl's bathroom.

"The girl's bathroom? This isn't the time to peek at people, Shikamaru," Naruto gave a pout like face at him.

"Baka. I'm going to show you guys something. I'll have Hinata call you when it's ready," Shikamaru followed after Hinata.

"That guy… What in the world is he trying to do?" Ino shook her head. "First he says Autumn's the murderer, he still hasn't proven it yet, and then he's doing something no one gets!"

"Just be patient with him," Temari said. "He knows what he's doing."

"Is his IQ really over two hundred as you say…?" Diana was slightly doubting.

"Would you rather have him as a dumbass and accuse you instead?" Temari leered at her, slightly irritated.

Diana was shut up immediately.

"E-everyone! Shikamaru's ready!" Hinata called from the bathroom.

As everyone ran toward the bathroom, I glanced over at Autumn and glared. _If what Shikamaru was saying is true… she's in for a world of pain!_

As everyone entered, Shikamaru was no where in sight while Hinata stood in front of a closed stall, awaiting us patiently.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Kairen looked around.

"I-in here…" Hinata looked over the locked up stall.

"EH!? YOU WENT INTO THE BATHROOM AFTER ALL, SHIKAMARU?!" Naruto stomped over angrily. "HEY! STOP FOOLING AROUND AND COME OUT HERE AND GIVE US PROOF!"

Naruto banged on the door and waited for Shikamaru to come out. Shikamaru flushed the toilet and knocked back in reply that he heard Naruto, but said nothing.

"OI! OI! DON'T JUST SIT IN THERE! HURRY UP AND COME OUT!" Naruto was raving his arms up and down madly.

"Tch… Don't be so loud…" a voice tiredly sighed from the entrance.

Everyone turned their heads over and gasped in shock. Our eyes widened as we stared at the person at the entrance.

"Sh-Shikamaru!?" I gaped.

"But- but how?!" Lee questioned.

"But Hinata said you were in the stall," Ino glanced over at it confusingly.

"Yeah. That was part of the plan; Hinata lied and pretended I was inside when I really wasn't," he looked at all of us. "Hinata was actually supposed to knock on the door to call me out, but once again, Naruto acted on his own."

Everyone turned their attention toward Autumn, who had a face of horror plastered across it. Her eyes shook fearfully and angrily.

"A little trick you did. So what?! It still proves nothing!" she exclaimed.

"Still denying it…!?" Naruto cried out in anger.

"Calm down, Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted him. "Yeah. It doesn't prove anything. That's why I'm going to show you how I did it."

Shikamaru walked over to the locked stall and climbed over the top. His movements rustled inside until finally, he opened up the door and walked out, holding a rock and strings.

"What the…" Kiba blinked.

"I'll explain. First of all, I used this piece of string and tied it around the rock. I also left a little bit more string so it's possible to swing it around," Shikamaru let go of the rock and held the piece of string, swinging the rock back and forth. He then took the longer, thinner string, and tied it on the other side of the rock. "I also use this string, too. The shorter side of the string, I tied it around the handle of the toilet, but still left a little room so that it's not too tight. After that, I took the longer string and tied it around the lock to the stall."

Shikamaru once again entered the stall and locked it. He arranged everything in the way of which he explained, and soon, climbed over the top of the stall and landed in front of us. "Knock on the door, Hinata."

Hinata nodded and knocked softly on the stall door. Suddenly, the toilet flushed and the sound of a knock was heard. Everyone gasped. Shikamaru ignored their astonishment and continued his explanation.

"The knocking of the bathroom door impacted the lock. Usually, if someone knocks on the stall, there's enough room for the lock to bump back and forth at the impact of it. So when Hinata and Naruto knocked, the lock bumped into the strings a few times, making it break. The rock had been balanced in the air, so when that string broke, the rock had no choice but to fall, too."

We all listened carefully, surprised at how well Shikamaru thought it all out and actually made something like this work.

"The string on the handle of the toilet can't hold it up for long since the weight of the rock is heavier. So, _that _string had no choice but to slide off of the handle causing the tip of the handle to sink down, making the toilet flush. The rock impacted the ground and bounced a few times which sounds as if someone knocked back."

He looked over at Autumn with a serious face. "Is that enough proof?"

"Wait a second!" Autumn stomped one foot on the ground angrily. "How do you know if I did all this?! Didn't this guy over here go into the bathroom, too?!"

"W-What?!" Eric backed away.

"Yeah. That's right," Shikamaru nodded. "But unfortunately, you made a mistake. I found the rock right outside this bathroom window of which you tried to dispose of in a hurry. Am I wrong?"

"Hah! How naïve of you! That guy here could've planted the rock there to accuse me! Or perhaps, the fast runner here might have placed the rock there when she tried to save your friend," Autumn glanced over at Diana.

_Damn this girl… _I cursed.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten," Shikamaru showed no signs of backing down. "You're a basketball player, aren't you? You're also required to run at a fast pace. The murderer was a fast runner… weren't they…? Able to avoid contact with others and managed to reach the exit in a matter of seconds. Isn't that right, Mizu?"

I blinked at him questioningly. But soon after, a memory flashed into my mind at the time of the crime. I let out a small gasp and looked over at Autumn.

"It _was _you! The only person in your way was me! The way you pushed me, it was an arm bar for defense in basketball!" I growled.

"Eh!?" everyone turned their heads toward me or Autumn.

"Don't joke with me! Eric here is in football. They also require running and evading!"

"No. Not the way basketball players move," Shikamaru interrupted. "Football players and basketball players each have different ways of evading an opponent. And if it was Eric, he would've placed his palm out to shove Mizu out of the way, not an arm bar."

"Does this mean Emily was also part of the murdering?" Tenten looked over at Autumn's friend.

"No," Shikamaru shook his head. "Unlike Hinata, Emily didn't have a clue about Autumn's plan. She was merely someone to give Autumn an alibi. I had went to ask Emily a question. I asked her if the way Autumn knocked on the stall door sounded strange. When a rock collides with the floor, it will clatter loudly a few times, but after, it softly clatters and slowly stops itself. Emily didn't think to realize this at first, but once I asked her, she told me the knock did sound somewhat strange."

"But how could Autumn have timed all this? She shouldn't know when Emily would have entered the bathroom," Ino spoke up.

"That's simple. She waited in a different place, of course. After Autumn set things up inside, she climbed out and escaped through the window. She headed around the school and waited near the other opened window outside of the Commons. It was the only window close enough to see Emily walk in to check on her and close enough to jump at Kyohaku. She wouldn't have used the entrance in the first place, because that guy out there would have asked her for money or a ticket. Going around the school was the only way to evade him."

"That still proves nothing!" Autumn had a shaky smirk. "I'm telling you, you have no proof it was me. These are nothing more than theories! There's no way of telling it was me if no one even saw!"

Shikamaru was quiet. His eyes were closed as he held his lazy stance of having both hands in his pockets. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to say something like he normally would. Suddenly, he took out one of his hands from his pockets and raised up two fingers. Autumn stared at him strangely.

"Two times."

"Nani…?"

"You told us yourself that you were the murderer two times," he stared at her confidently.

"W-What!?" she screamed.

"When was this?" Kiba wondered.

"Naruhodo…" Sasuke chuckled.

"Sasuke-kun? You know?" Ino blinked.

"It was careless of you," Sasuke smirked at Autumn.

"W-What are you talking about?" Autumn slightly backed up.

"In your purse… You have broken pieces of strings, didn't you?"

Everyone but Shikamaru and Temari gasped.

"That string was used for the 'theory' Shikamaru has been talking about, wasn't it?" Sasuke stood there with his eyes closed, standing in a cool fashion.

"I told you! Trash! Nothing but trash in my purse! I haven't cleaned out my purse for a while, so that string could've been there at any time!"

"No. It's _because _you have a habit of throwing things away in your purse revealed to us that you had used it for your alibi. You disposed of the rock out the window in a hurry because carrying a rock in your purse would be too suspicious. But without realizing your own habit, you placed the broken strings in your purse," Shikamaru explained.

"I'm telling you, it proves nothing!" she clutched her fist in anger.

"Tch! Stubborn one, aren't you?" Temari placed a hand on her hips. "All right. Then tell us. You were in this bathroom the whole time as you've said. You also told us that you didn't hear any screaming when you came out."

"Yeah? What of it?"

"If you didn't hear anything… then how did you know whether or not Kyohaku screamed when she was stabbed?" Temari glared at her accusingly.

"T-That's because!" Autumn stammered.

"Don't try to pin it on your friend, either. I know for a fact Emily didn't tell you anything. I had also asked her that question when I went over to her," Shikamaru stepped in.

"But, wait. There's one thing I don't get," Kairen spoke up. "Why this bathroom? Wouldn't it have been better to choose a bathroom that was farther away so it would seem as if she couldn't have made it in time to stab Kyohaku?"

"It wasn't that she didn't choose another bathroom…" Shikamaru began.

"It was because she couldn't," Temari finished.

"Eh?"

"She needed this bathroom and this bathroom alone," Sasuke started. "This is the only bathroom where the stalls don't show you people's feet. If Emily had somehow glanced down at Autumn's feet and didn't see her, then the whole plan would've been ruined. With these stalls, they reach the floor, so there was no way Emily could tell. In which case, Emily had to knock in order to ask if Autumn was done."

"But, Shikamaru? How did you know where the rock was in the first place? Tsunade-sama had those rocks placed all around the school near the bathroom windows," Sakura wondered.

"Exactly… All these rocks were very new and very smooth. But the rock I found… It had a line across it from the string. As the string was falling, it would somewhat resist the rock's weight since it was tied pretty tightly. Only a split second, but that is enough to cause a trace of line across the rock."

Autumn stood there, glowering at the floor. She gritted her teeth as her whole body shook in anger.

"Don't try to deny it any longer," Sasuke coldly told her. "The rock Shikamaru touched has his DNA on it, but it would also have yours."

"Also, Naruto had mistakenly revealed to us it was you," Temari also added. "Kyohaku did indeed say 'Akki' which means demon. However, the baka here pronounced it too quickly calling it 'Aki' instead of 'Akki.' In truth, Kyohaku wasn't really calling her murderer an evil spirit; her voice was just too cracked up to pronounce it correctly. She was really trying to say 'Aki' which in Japanese also means Autumn… Kyohaku's dying message."

"A-Amazing!" Lee whispered.

"Heh… So I've been caught…" Autumn chuckled quietly.

"DAMN YOU! HOW COULD YOU!?" Naruto was about to prance on her, but he was held back by Shikamaru. "WHAT DID KYOHAKU EVER DO TO YOU?!"

It took everything inside of me not to lash out at her as Naruto did. I could tell everyone else was doing the same. We all stood there, waiting for an explanation.

"Kyohaku the Matchmaker? HAH! Don't make me laugh!" Autumn yelled. "She matched me up with someone, and I agreed. But guess what? I've been suffering ever since I went out with him! He doesn't listen to me. He doesn't pay any attention to me. What kind of boyfriend is that!? And it was all Kyohaku's fault. She chose him. And I suffered for it. So in the end, I decided to make her suffer!"

A loud thud was heard near the side of the wall. Everyone looked over in slight shock from the suddenly noise. It was revealed to them that I was the one that caused it. Out of anger, I lashed out at the wall, causing a small crack. My knuckles dripped with a bit of blood as I stared solemnly at the ground.

"Kyohaku's fault…? DON'T JOKE AROUND!" I exclaimed causing Autumn to back away. "It was Kyohaku's fault your boyfriend doesn't listen? It was Kyohaku's fault that he doesn't care? BULLSHIT! DON'T BLAME YOUR PROBLEMS ON SOMEONE ELSE!"

"IT _WAS _HER FAULT. SHE MATCHED ME WITH HIM! IT'S HER FAULT!"

"THEN WORK IT OUT!" my voice rose louder than hers. "It's ironic… It's really not Kyohaku's business of who should go out with each other or not, and even if I don't really know her… I bet she does a damn good job at it! Have you ever stopped to think maybe you were doing something wrong!? Maybe at one point, you ignored him? Gave him the cold shoulder? Ever stopped to think about his feelings rather than your own!?"

Autumn's mouth was left wide open. It was as if she realized a horrible mistake. I didn't give her time to look at us with guilt. I continued.

"What right do you even have to take somebody else's life!? Kyohaku can't suffer if she's dead! You've only caused her friends and family to suffer! What did you achieve from that!? WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE NOW THAT YOU'VE FINISHED BLAMING IT ON SOMEONE ELSE!?"

"Mizu! Wait! I just realized!" Kairen stopped me. "The murder weapon was never found!"

My anger left me for a moment as I stopped to look at Kairen. _Th-the murder weapon… That's right…!_

"Shikamaru?" I looked over at him.

Shikamaru shook his head and let go of Naruto, who had ceased after my little speech.

"You… you don't know?" Naruto asked.

"That's not it."

"Then?"

"There was no murder weapon," Shikamaru answered as if it was the most normal answer he can give.

"….EH?!?!" people exclaimed.


End file.
